One Magical Weekend
by J-Russ
Summary: Sequel to Pre-Order Bonus. What starts as a lunch date for Lincoln, Lily and their new friends quickly becomes a weekend-long event thanks to the Sister Fight Protocol. Linc will grow closer to Kat, and Skyla than he thought possible. Lily will make her first friend outside the family, as their sisters search for answers to Lincoln's change of character. Co-Written with Zoinks81.
1. The Night Before We Land

**Welcome everyone to the newest version of the first chapter of One Magical Weekend. Not much has changed with this update be spelling and grammar corrections and some minor tweaks like more descriptions of what the characters are doing and a few other minor changes.**

 **It would be best to read Pre-Order Bonus first so you know what's going on and who some of these characters are. For the reader's convince I'm including ages and birthdays.**

 **Lori - February 15th, 1999 current age 18**

 **Leni - November 15th, 2000 current age 16**

 **Luna - July 18th, 2001 current age 15**

 **Luan - April 22nd, 2002 ((Twelve weeks Premature)) current age 15**

 **Lynn - March 23rd, 2003 current age 14**

 **Lincoln - May 14th, 2005 current age 12**

 **Lucy - October 13th, 2008 current age 8**

 **Lana - June 8th, 2010 current age 7**

 **Lola - June 8th, 2010 current age 7**

 **Lisa - September 10th, 2012 current age 4**

 **Lily - January 18th, 2015 current age 2**

* * *

 **~Skyla and Kat~**

Three hours had passed since Skyla and Kat had dropped off their gift for Lincoln. Three hours of waiting on a bed of nails with baited breath. When they returned to Skyla's home at Temple-Shrine Grove, a large property hosting a Shinto Shrine, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples and even a Neo-Polytheist temple. The young Asian girl had excused herself to the bathroom for a quick shower and change of clothes. Kat had spent those few minutes pacing the room, walking back and forth like a nervous father awaiting news on his newborn child.

Skyla returned, dressed in a pair of red basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt. Her hair was still a bit damp and hung limply over her left shoulder, while a towel draped across her other shoulder.

"No word yet?" Skyla asked, tossing the towel into a hamper near her closet.

Kat sighed and shook her head as she climbed into the window seat closest to the door in Skyla's room, Kat always loved these wonderful for reading or just lounging, she leaned against the glass watching the summer storm that had rolled in. The weather was funny like that, one minute they were walking with the sun smiling down on them, the next thing they knew, dark clouds had begun to gather and tease rain. While Skyla was in the shower, a few drops had fallen, splashing the window to the bedroom. Now it had picked up to become a light drizzle. Kat thought it was a hell of a coincidence, how the weather suddenly matched her mood.

"Patience sweetie, just breathe," Skyla gave her friend a reassuring smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder, "he may not have gotten the package yet."

"I know, it's just ... well, I can't help but be nervous. I mean he is the first guy I've liked since Chandler," Kat pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head between them.

"It's okay to feel a little nervous," Skyla rubbed her friends back, "just try not to let it make you a mess. Remember the breathing exercises I taught you."

Kat nodded and went over one of them, in on a count of four, hold for a count of four, our for a count o four, hold for a count of four. "The Four fours" was how she remembered the exercise for reasons she once thought she'd never have to explain, but then one girl in her class named Jennifer never seemed to get it just giving them a blank look. The pair wondered how that girl ever made it to fifth grade, no less constantly made honor student. Finally calming herself, she looked up at Skyla "What did you think of his sisters?" Kat asked.

Skyla crossed her arms and closed her eyes thinking back to just a few short hours ago, knocking on the door and meeting a blonde woman dressed in teal, a white pair of sunglasses perched on her head like a crown. She smiled with an innocence unlike most normal teenagers and politely told them that she and her family weren't interested in purchasing any Girl Scout cookies. After the initial shock had worn off, Skyla realized that she had just experienced Leni Loud. Lincoln had not gone into much detail about his older sisters; But Skyla knew Leni, much like the rest of Royal Woods, by reputation. A lot of the town knew her as the dumb blonde, following her adventures on the likes of YouTube, most under titles such as "dumb blonde drives into a pool" or "dumb blonde tries to walk into a painted mural." All of those videos taken by people witness to Leni's misadventures.

There were also those that happened to know of Leni because of her kind heart, often dropping off homemade clothes to homeless shelters, like one that Skyla's father and brother Alex volunteered at, along with smoothies and some of her father's leftovers. The girl had a reputation for doing whatever she could to help those around her, never turning anyone away. Skyla had wondered if that was where Lincoln got it from.

Once they recovered from the shock of having the door shut in their faces, and the shared laughter of Leni's reaction to them, Kat and Skyla tried again. This time they yelled through the door, telling those just beyond the barrier that they were looking for Lincoln. Next thing they knew they heard what sounded like a herd of wild buffalo on a stampede towards the door, which whipped open with such force that Skyla thought for sure it would come off its hinges. They were snatched up and brought inside to the couch where they were interrogated like they were the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

"They were," Skyla took a second to search her feelings and find the right words, "interesting..." she opened her eyes.

"Yeah, I peed a little as well," Kat said.

Skyla slowly turned to her friend, a mild look of disgust on her face. " ... maybe, maybe you should take a shower."

"I was just kidding," Kat said, a smile slowly creeping across her face.

Skyla studied Kat's facial expression and sniffed the air around her, making sure it was, in fact, a joke.

"Can you imagine having to deal with that EVERY day," Kat said, trying to change the subject.

"Now we have some idea as to what is troubling him." Skyla thought back to the grins the girls gave them as they pumped them for information.

Four of the younger girls Skyla knew because of school and their reputations. Lisa was the genius who had nearly blown up the school on several occasions. She was also familiar with her do to her brother, Reo, being a college professor, and Lisa had done some lectures that he attended. She was a bit taken off guard, and quite disturbed by her requests for stool samples and brainwave readings.

Lucy was interesting if more than a bit creepy. She had started off by frightening Kat, appearing like a ghost out of nowhere, and telling the girl how she liked Kat's jacket, as it reminded her of blood. She continued to inquire about any other macabre interests that Kat might have, which appeared to unsettle her friend deeply; though the girl did show a hint of delight in the fact that someone was interested in her brother.

Aside from Lisa, the most troubling one of the bunch was Lynn, which Skyla had known of from her talk with Lincoln, and the fact that her sports legend still echoed through the hallowed halls of Royal Woods Elementary. Horror stories were still told about her deadly arm in dodgeball.

The sporty Loud had spent the whole time glaring at them with a false and creepy smile. It was clear to Skyla that she was sizing them up as if mulling over in her mind if they were good enough for Lincoln or not. Upon seeing her, Skyla smiled, deciding she would make sure to convince Lincoln to train with her father, who had already agreed to teach Lincoln a few things, as well as contact a friend of his to help get Lincoln serious about training. She wanted her new friend to put the family bully in her place and wanted to be there when it happened.

The eldest sister, Lori, cared more about conducting her own interrogation into just how interested they were in Lincoln. Skyla made a point to make them aware that Kat was the one with the romantic interest, she was just there as a friend and because she liked Lincoln in a purely platonic way. She also made sure to avoid a few other topics, no sense in raising any red flags with her polyamory, hypnosis skills or religious training right off the bat.

Lori seemed ok to Skyla if not a bit stressed and overwhelmed. Being the oldest of ten siblings, nine of them being girls, Skyla assumed that Lori probably had her hands full, making it difficult to balance her family, school, and personal lives. Through a job into the mix and Skyla could see the poor girl turning to the bottle at some point.

The youngest sister, Lily, was a pure gem, shining with a sparkly personality and manners that had long since died out in most kids even older than her. She fetched them drinks and snacks as the others went through their line of questioning. Here and there Lily would speak up on just how much her "dearest" brother had meant to her. The whole "dearest" thing was a lovely touch that made Kat and her really connect. Kat had even joked about taking the little girl and adopting her as her own sister, which had gotten a few laughs from most of the sisters. Luna, who again Skyla knew of through her reputation, remarked that Lincoln would fight them for her, as the two had become quite close. This brought on a sudden and brief shift in the atmosphere, with the sisters all sharing a momentary look of sadness. Skyla sensed there was more to this family then the faces they braved for the world and each other. Deep down there were layers that would eventually get peeled back.

Though Skyla had taken a shine to Lily, the high light of the meeting to her was Luan. She knew Lincoln Loud had a sister named Luan, but she never made the connection that she was THE Luan Loud. Star of the YouTube channel L.O.L. Skyla had assumed it was just a stage name. Kat, of course, liked Luan as well, and the two shared in a feel laughs that made Luan break from the formation and sit on the couch with the two of them. She draped her arm over Kat and told her that she was happy a girl with a sense of humor was interested in her brother, as she felt he really needed to loosen up and smile more often.

After the momentary feeling of jealousy had faded. _Seriously,_ Skyla thought to herself, _why did Kat get to be all chummy with Luan and not the girl who had seen all of her videos?_ The sisters all shared their feelings of growing concern for Lincoln. They told Skyla how he appeared tired and distracted, acting out of character from the boy they knew. They all assumed that he was just down in the dumps over a girl or a fight with a friend. Skyla had a feeling it was something a little closer to home, though she kept those thoughts to herself.

"Skyla I..." before Kat could finish her thought music started to play a gentle acoustic guitar accompanied by Japanese Lyrics,

 _taiyou ga sasu_

 _tozashita mabuta no_  
 _uragawa ni_

 _akai zanzou_  
 _kawa no kaban ni Note to Pen wo_  
 _saa arukidasou_

The song was Hello Shooting Star by Moumoon, Skyla's ringtone, she walked over to her desk that sat between the windows of her room and looked down at the phone seeing that it was Lincoln calling, the sisters had given them his number so they'd know it was him calling.

"That him?" Kat asked unfolding from her ball and getting to her feet her face illuminated with excitement.

"It is," Skyla smirked, "should I answer it?" She teased.

"You want to live to see your next birthday?" Kat glared at Skyla

"There is a lot of anger in you Kitten," Skyla crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Answer the damn phone," Kat commanded taking a step towards Skyla.

Skyla did as she was told, because she wanted to and not out of fear. At least that was what she would keep telling herself.

"Uh hey ... Is this Skyla?" Lincoln said on the other end.

"The one and only Little One," Skyla said, winking to Kat.

"Little One? I got a good foot or so on you; you're like as tall as my sister Lucy. Why Little One?" Lincoln asked.

"What can I say? You bring out a nurturing instinct in me, so it has become your nickname. Accept it." Skyla explained, sitting on the edge of her bed, she skipped the part about how she thought it was cute and knew it would annoy him. After all just because she was nurturing didn't mean she wouldn't tease him.

"Uh huh ... what? Oh yeah sure. Hey, Lily wants to say hi," Lincoln said. Skyla could hear the phone being handed over.

"Hello Skyla, Lincoln simply adored his gift," Lily said. "I hope to see you and Kathrine again soon."

"Thank you, Lily, I look forward to seeing you again to you little cutie pie," Skyla said, hearing the little girl giggle through the phone. She could hear Lincoln taking the phone back again. "You know Kat wants to keep her now."

"Not going to happen, she is my emotional support sister. My Lily, all mine, no share!" Lincoln joked making Skyla almost drop her phone from laughing, after a few minutes she composed herself.

"So, is Kat there now?" Lincoln sounded hopeful.

Skyla looked over at Kat who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The poor girl was sweating and biting her nails, which were freshly done the other day. Skyla motioned for Kat to take the phone, but she shook her head no. She wanted to, but the nerves were getting to her, and she did not want to make a fool of herself. Skyla sighed and shook her head, continuing her conversation.

"I'm afraid she isn't, I just got off the phone with her earlier she said she was going to bed early," other than the phone part it wasn't a total like Kat was going to bed early, Skyla would see to it, worked up as she was the girl needed to rest.

"Oh, okay," There was an unmistakable undertone of disappointment in his voice.

"But she will be here tomorrow. You should come over and hang out with us. Bring Lily with you," Skyla laid on her bed patting beside her for Kat to join her.

"Re .. uh ok," Lincoln said. "What time should I come over?"

"Let's make it around noon. Another lunch date," Skyla took Kat's hand in hers as the girl laid beside her, giving her best friend a reassuring squeeze.

"Sounds good, we will be there, just uhh, just text me the address, so I know where to go."

"I will. Well, you have a wonderful night Little One." Skyla said.

"Uh huh, you too," Lincoln said, that cute tone of annoyance in his voice.

Skyla hung up and rolled onto her side looking at Kat. "You get all of that?" Kat nodded a grin on her face but a bit of panic in her eyes.

Kat was both excited and nervous as hell. Why was she nervous? They had fun last time, and things went pretty damn smoothly. She laughed, he laughed, Sky laughed. What could go wrong? That was the thousand-dollar question that loomed over her like a dark cloud, bringing in a storm of terrible what ifs. The problem with a budding romance was that, no matter how exciting it was with the mysterious aspect, there was always the off chance that something could come along and nip it in the bud. Just ask Don Knotts, he knew all about nipping things in the bud, he used to say it all time. Damn, Skyla was right, maybe she should step out of the past and join the present a little more. Who makes Andy Griffith Show references anymore?

"You okay with this idea?" Skyla asked.

"Groovy," Kat said.

"Cool beans," Skyla shot back, getting a smile from her friend. "You know what we have to do next right?"

"Call Jordan, Amy, and Amber?" Kat said, letting out a small squee.

"Was gonna suggest you hit the showers, and then we get an early bedtime, but yeah we can do that too."

Kat playfully slapped at her friend, "fine it is getting late a shower then bed, we can call tomorrow."

After Kat left Skyla laid on her bed looking at the ceiling and the glow in the dark sticker she had up there, a simple circle she used for self-hypnosis or when putting someone, well Kat really, under. She wondered if things would work out, she'd always crushed on Kat, and now Lincoln was there a chance she'd be able to make things work out the way she wanted? A poly relationship?

She got up walked over to the far side of her room and pulled out a small stepping stool and opened a minifridge she had removing a bottle of water and a few grapes, she claimed the stepping stool and placed the items on her Kamidana, a small home shrine, as an offering. She turned on two electric candles pushed the step ladder in took three steps back then clapped twice bowed twice and clapped once more as she'd been taught and prayer all went well the next day.

~Lincoln and Lily~

Lincoln sat on the edge of his bed with Lily to his right and a phone in his hand. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to process what had just happened. _I have a date. Skyla did call it a date, right? Wait, is it a date with Kat? Skyla? Both of them? Skyla said she was into that sort of thing. Well, either way, I'm going over to her house tomorrow to hang out with them. A date. Heh, way to go Lincoln._

He turned to look at Lily who was grinning at up at him. "Well little lady, I got a date, and you are coming along," Lincoln kissed her forehead.

"Me?" She cocked her head in mock surprise, "Why on Earth would they want me to join you dearest brother?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice as if she knew they would ask her to come alone.

"Seems you made a heck of an impression on them," He furrowed his brow and studied her response. He often got the feeling that a lot of the girls either in his life or entering it, were much smarter than he was, always a few moves ahead of him in a game he didn't even realize he was playing. He would have to change that.

"I would assume you would want some time alone with Kathrine, or is it Skyla you fancy?" Lily gave the same smile her older sisters had when it came to romance. Still, she was just a little puzzled that she was going. Lily knew that she and Lincoln had grown closer, but this was the first time he had invited her to join him with his friends. Not just a hang out she was coming along on a date; most perplexing as Lisa would probably say.

"I can still have alone time with them while you're there, just go to another room," He smiled and pulled his baby sister into his arms, "not sure which girl I'd want to date, and it's a bit soon for that. Besides, Skyla insisted, can't go disappointing my new lady friends already, can I?"

Lily nuzzled into her brother's arms as a thought slowly crept its way into the back of her mind. She wondered if Kathrine and Skyla would be able to help her brother work through the troubles that were currently weighing on him. Even when he smiled there was a faint glow of sadness that sat behind it. This troubled her that someone so kind hearted would be dealing with whatever pain he hid behind that mask wore around his friends and family.

"So, how do we go about preventing the others from meddling?" Lily asked.

She was right of course; the others would stick their noses in where they weren't welcome. They had done it so often that it had started to be known as pulling a Loud; mainly because the meddling would backfire.

A small and devious smile spread across Lincoln's face, "I think I have an idea." He said, he went and grabbed his laptop and sat Lily back into his lap. Soon Lincoln was online and was longing onto a small, little known, messaging system he and his friends used and sent a connection request to his friend Liam.

 *****WELCOME TO CHATCOM*****

 *****LOG IN USER: SnowAce*****

 *****CONNECTING TO USER: BullSpitMcGee*****

 **SnowAce:** Hey man, Lily and I need a favor.

 **BullSpitMcGee:** Shoot.

 **SnowAce:** I'm going to meet a couple of people tomorrow, and my sisters might try to pull a Loud. Do you mind covering for us?

 **BullSpitMcGee:** These people happen to be ladies?

 **SnowAce:** ...maybe...

 **BullSpitMcGee:** Hells yeah partner, you go and lasso up that little filly's heart.

 **SnowAce:** So you'll cover?

 **BullSpitMcGee:** Does a bull kick when you grab its nuts?

 **SnowAce:** So you'll cover then?

 **BullSpitMcGee:** I just said I would. Don't you understand English?

 **SnowAce:** Of course. Do you ever speak it? :)

 **BullSpitMcGee:** Funny boy huh? You're like a school in summer boy, no class. So why come to me and not Clyde? You two are like a pig and mud, always rolling about.

 **SnowAce:** Two names. Lori and Lynn.

 **BullSpitMcGee:** I see your point, Clyde cave with just a wink, then Lynn would probably beat him up for being a wuss or something. So, what do you want me to do if they come a knocking and I don't answer?

 **SnowAce:** If they show up and Lynn gets violent, go ahead do what you gotta do.

 **BullSpitMcGee:** Yeehaw! I'll get my rope handy.

 **SnowAce:** I owe you, one man. You might even get some of my dad's lasagna.

 **BullSpitMcGee:** This is why we are friends. Best of luck to ya buddy!

 *****CONNECTION: TERMINATED*****

 *****CHAT LOGS: DELETED*****

 *****LOGGING OUT*****

 *****THANK YOU FOR USING CHATCOM*****

Lily may have been two but thanks to rooming with Lisa she could read at a college level as such she followed the entire conversation, "What can Liam do to keep Lori and Lynn from getting physical?"

"Well Liam lives on a farm, and though he is not what you would call a sports buff, he does like to compete in the rodeo. He is pretty good at bull roping like Lana is at wrestling alligators, Liam even has a trophy for it." Lincoln explains. "I suspect that he would be able to handle himself with Lori and Lynn. If he really wants to mess with them he can always lure them into the pen with the goats and chickens; those things can get nasty."

Lily began to laugh at the thought of Lynn being chased around a barn by a mean old rooster.

"One other question. Why BullSpitMcGee?" Lily asked.

"Heh, yeah ..." Lincoln began to stammer. "See it wasn't supposed to be Bull Spit, it was supposed to be something else, but his parents came in when he was making up the name and had to improvise."

Lily thought about it for a second trying to figure out what Liam had originally intended for his name, a smile spreading across her face as she had put it all together. Low brow humor was not always her things, but as a famous comedian once said, "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there."

~The Loud Sisters~

It may have been both Lori and Leni's room, but it was often just referred to as Lori's room. She was the oldest and supposed to be the one in charge, though she had been slipping in her leadership duties as of late. The stress of the day to day family drama, and of course missing Bobby, had taken a toll on her. This was a woman who was working overtime for very little pay.

Still, she was looked at by the others as the leader, and this was still HER room, which was often the place where they would hold sibling meetings.

All of the girls were there minus Lily, who had been missing more than a few meetings as of late. Lori assumed it was because of the bond she had developed with her big brother. Lori was standing by her dresser, behind Leni's sewing desk. Lucy, Luna, and Leni sat on the fashionista's bed while Luan sat with the twins on Lori's bed. Lisa sat on the floor by herself with a textbook in her lap. Lynn paced back and forth, like a tiger looking to escape its cage.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, Lincoln seems fine to me, he just needs to toughen up," Lynn punched her fist into her palm.

"That is literally your answer to everything," Lori said pinching her nose bridge.

"It's rare to see him really happy these days..." Lana said.

"What are you talking about? I see him smile all the time!" Lynn yelled, flaring her arms.

"If it's one thing I know, it's smiles, and that is as fake a smile as I have ever seen," Luan told her sister.

Lori wondered what Lincoln was hiding, and why he didn't come to one of them. Had they done something wrong? Did they hurt his feelings? Things seemed normal to her, they acted how they always acted around each other, except Lynn, who appeared to have had something crawl up her ass and make her a raging bitch more often. Lori wondered if she should talk to their parents about having her tested for steroids, she was running out of ideas for what Lynn's problem was.

"I'm telling you he just needs to exercise. Let me take him out and run him around, maybe show him some new kicks I learned, or a few boxing techniques." Lynn told them.

"That's code for let me beat him up some more," Luna said to Luan.

"What did you say?" Lynn asked, her nostrils flaring as he face turns red.

"You heard me, dude, you just want someone to toss around like a rag doll," Luna said.

"At least I trust him enough to not keep secrets," Lynn shot back.

"What the hell does that mean dude?" Luna could feel the grip on her anger beginning to loosen.

"Sam!" Leni yelled, making Luna whip her head around towards Leni. Of course, the ditzy blonde was just shouting the name because she was playing along, thinking it was like a guessing game or something. Still, Luna was taken off guard by her older sister blurting out her girlfriend's name.

"Uh huh, Sam." Lynn stated, "You were so worried that we'd all hate or judge you that you kept your relationship with Sam a secret," Luna could hear the venom dripping from each word that Lynn spat, "his best friend has two dads who are dear friends of this family and Lincoln looks up to them. Hell, even our dad talked to Lincoln, telling him it was okay if he was gay because hell we all thought he was before Ronnie Anne came into his life, then he went after Paige. Shit even with this new girl I still think he might be bisexual. Yet, you hid your little girlfriend."

"One more word Junior and I will smack the bitch out of you," Luna warned rising to her feet.

"ALRIGHT!" Lori yelled, snapping everyone back to attention. "I have had it with this shit! Lynn, I have no clue what the hell is up with you lately, but stop being such a damn bitch. Exercise and beating Lincoln up is not going to help."

Lynn muttered something under her breath that Lori knew was at least four letters and should probably not be repeated around the little ones, even though she had just said shit and called her sister a bitch.

"I don't understand the whole exercise thing anyways," Luan pointed out. "I mean why do mom and dad get on him about it all the time? He actually gets out more than they do. He's more active then Leni, myself, Lucy, Lola or Lisa and you don't see mom or dad getting all crazy on us."

Lori knew that Luan was right, their parents tended to be more strict with Lincoln and had even gone a little harder on him with punishments, like when the girls got the family banned from that grocery store, Lincoln was punished and they got off the hook. Not that the girls were much better it took months and before Lynn's poor sportsmen ship and years of Luan's excessive April fools pranks where addressed, however, if Lincoln put a toe out of line the sisters would punish him that same day, like with the earplugs. She wouldn't have been surprised if Lincoln thought that they looked at him as less than his sisters. Something else she would have to try and figure out, why they acted the way they did, maybe have a chat with him.

"He's a boy, it's different," Lynn said folding her arms across her chest, "boy's should be more athletic!" With her tone, one would be forgiven for thinking Lynn was preaching some sort of gospel.

"So does that mean that you should act more girlish?" Leni asked her face breaking into a smile, "if so, I have some great dresses." Leni's mind filled with possibilities of different designs.

"That's different! It's okay for a girl to be a tomboy." Lynn replied her voice quivering a little.

"Why is it different? Why can't Lincoln go outside of gender norms just like you?" Leni asked her stunning the girls with that statement. They knew Leni had hidden depths to her, still was a surprise whenever they came out.

Lynn went to respond but was cut off by Lori who shot the athlete a look that told her to swallow that insult on the tip of her tongue. She would not have another meeting ending with Leni balling her eyes out because Lynn shot her mouth off again.

"Our male sibling's behavioral patterns are indeed troubling," Lisa said. "They resemble the common behavior patterns and mood swings of a person who is bipolar or suffering from depression."

"It's true, Lincoln comes in with that fake smile, but I went into the vents, and as soon as he entered his room it went off, I almost got involved, but then Lily beat me to it. I figured she'd be better at getting a smile from him than me. Sigh," Lucy told them in her monotone.

"He looks like he is going to cry some days, for no reason," Lola added, ringing her hands and looking at her that dangled over the edge of the bed.

"Might I add that both myself and Lucy have shown concern for his mental and emotional health," Lisa said. "Which should add to the state of concern in this room as the two people with the least amount of emotional dealings are worried about him."

Lori sighed. They had done little more than go around in circles, placing blame, asking questions, and yet still they found themselves nowhere closer to finding an answer to why Lincoln was behaving the way that he was. She wondered if it might help to look at it from a different angle, instead of asking why maybe try to figure out how to help him. Suddenly a thought had blinked on her head like a light bulb turning on.

"What if we try to include him more?" Lori asked. "I mean aside from Lynn always beating up on him when have we last really spent time with Lincoln?"

The girls all looked to Lori, then to each other, all except Lynn who sat in the chair and fumed at Lori's jab at her. The other girls tried to think of a time where they really had spent time with their brother, and nothing recent had come to mind. Perhaps Lori was on to something.

"Hey! Me and Lincoln spend plenty of time doing funny business," Luan started but then stopped her smile falling off her face, "or we use to till I started mentoring Lucy in the performing arts and working with Giggles… I never actually fired Lincoln, he was doing great I just sort of told him one day I'll let him know when I need him again. I um sorta wasn't sure how to explain I just didn't need him anymore because Giggles is so good at this and I wanted to mentor her and Lucy more..."

"Luna, I know you and Sam had been trying to do some two on one time with the other sisters, maybe let Lincoln have a turn?" Lori said.

"Well, we were going to do that ... eventually ... I think." Luna looked at her feet, avoiding eye contact with the other girls around her. She suddenly felt ashamed as she had not really thought about doing something with Lincoln. She was sure she would, but it was never actually planned like it was with the other girls. She wondered if it had something to do with the fact that she was hurt by the fact that Lincoln seemed to choose Lily as his favorite. The rocker always thought she and Lincoln shared a special bond, after all, she took him to his first concert and was the only one who didn't say that she ruined it. She wondered if things would have been different if she asked to room with Lincoln when the swap was brought up again. She was not proud of the fact that she would sometimes find herself jealous of a two-year-old, but like the song says, "that's just the way it is."

Of course, it didn't help that Sam shared her brother's love for pretty much all things geek culture. From video game to comics, to even anime & manga, the lovely rocker who owned her heart also had a lot of things in common with her brother. She was afraid. Afraid that the two would bond and she would find herself being a third wheel, kind of like when Lincoln and Bobby bonded, and Lori found herself pushed out for a few days. Was it stupid? Yeah, of course, it was, but she was a teenager, she was allowed to be stupid. Still, it made her feel like a horrible sister.

"Hey Lori, why did you talk about Lincoln in like he wasn't one of us?" Leni asked her brow furrowed like it was whenever she was trying to focus her mental faculties on an issue.

"Huh?" Lori was confused by Leni's question. She didn't remember saying Lincoln wasn't one them he's family after all they did so much together.

"When you asked Luna about spending time with the sisters. You said, "other sisters" then asked her to give Lincoln a turn. Sounded like you were referring to him as a friend, not family. I mean Lincoln's our bother, but you make it sound like Luna was only going to spend time letting the sister's bond with Sam." Leni said.

Lori thought back and realized she did sort of do that, making her wonder how often they all did that. Did they really just treat him as an outsider? She knew that he would often join them in their girly activities, but they never thought to ask if he really wanted to do any of that stuff he seemed to enjoy it, however, was it only because he wanted to spend time with his beloved sisters? Now to think of it they rarely if ever offered to join him with whatever he wanted to do. Did he really feel like an outsider in his own family?

"I ... I never really thought it," Lori's mouth was slightly open her eyes wide as she pondered this, "h... how many times?"

"By my calculations, one hundred and seven times, or about twice a week on average," Lisa stated. "And that is just in the past couple of years. I cannot keep track of what I was not around, or too young to be aware of.

"Damn dude, that's a lot," Luna was shocked by that number there was no way.

"Wait we do this four or more times a week every week? That doesn't sound right..." Lola was a bit confused that didn't seem right.

Lori smiled at Lola, "No Lola, it's just a way to visualize it, it doesn't mean we literally do that."

"Correct and remember the majority of those times have been in recent months," Lisa replied.

"We do treat him like one of us!" Lucy said her voice breaking it's normal monotone, "how often does Lori call him one of the girls?"

"You know we were ready to kill Francisco for calling Lynn one of the boys." Luan mused thinking over recent events, "I wonder how Lincoln feels about that. It's like we think being a boy is a bad thing. Not to mention how often we rant about males with him right there."

Francisco was a boy Lynn had fallen for when he got her letter he told her that while he was touched he considered Lynn like a brother, a best friend, and didn't see her that way but hoped she found someone. The girls had wanted his head ever since.

Silence came over the room as the girls wondered over this bit of information Lynn finally spoke up, voice something she'd wondered about for years "You know acting the way, he does, I'm surprised he doesn't get picked on more often."

"Maybe he does," Lori said her mind filling with images of her brother being beaten.

"But if he did, wouldn't Lucy, Lisa, and the twins know?" Luan asked looking at the younger girls.

"Alas, that is information that is beyond my knowledge," Lisa said beginning to pace the room her eyes closed hands behind her back as if giving a lecture, "for you see, once you had left grade school, the school board had made some changes in the way things were done. They have separated us into different sections of the building. Even our lunches and breaks are coordinated to keep the younger children from, the older children. It is possible that he is meeting with repeated physical altercations and intimidation on a daily basis. Street Name: Bullying. One a positive note this school year Lucy will be in the same section as Lincoln and do you not have friends that are in Lincoln's grade we can ask? Cassie, Pollyanna, Kimberly and Tabatha?" Lisa was, of course, talking about Lucy's best friend Cassie Pearson or as she preferred to be called Haiku. Pollyanna Winchester or Polly Pain to use her roller derby name a kid Lynn knew and had bonded with. The final two girls were Kimberly Valentine or Giggles to use her clown name and Tabatha Cortez also known as Tabby, Luan and Luna mentored these two young ladies.

Lori knew that they had to have a talk with Lincoln, try to get him to open up to them. She thought about going to talk to him now, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time or not. No, that was bullshit, she was scared, and she damn well knew it. She was not an idiot, despite what the college rejection letters had said. She was afraid of what she would learn. What if they were the cause for all the sadness? What if he had taken to cutting himself? They already suspected Lucy of doing so. Her mind was filled with possible answers that each looked too grim and bleak for her to deal with. Yeah, she knew she had to at some point, but she was so tired and didn't know if she had the strength to do it.

"Lets ... let's talk to him tomorrow. Around lunch or so." Lori said.

"Why wait? We can go down there right now," Leni replied the sooner this was done, the better in her opinion.

"So, we can prepare, go over what we want to say to him. I want to present a united front, all of us there for him," Lori looked at Lynn. "and no going on about how he needs to toughen up."

Lynn huffed like a bull being told it was not welcome in a china shop. She was pissed but then she always pissed lately, so no one really took notice. It was just dismissed as Lynn being Lynn.

The girls all agreed to talk to Lincoln the next day, hoping that maybe they could get him to open up to them. Each of them left and went back to their rooms, yet all of their minds remained on the topic discussed in Lori's room. They were worried and little by little, they started to let fear settle in. Not just fear of what was going on or could happen to Lincoln, but fear of what part they may have played in the drama.

Down the hall, Lincoln slept with Lily curled up beside him the littlest Loud clutching Bun-Bun in her arms while her brother held her tight whimpering as he suffered yet another nightmare.

* * *

 **Here we go, folks, what waits for Lincoln when he goes to see his ladies and will the sister's figure out what's wrong with their only brother?**


	2. Arrival

**Welcome back, folks! We are trying something new with this chapter. Breaking it into segments and titling them with the characters that are being focused on for the most part. Let us know what you think of this.**

 **A note on how Lily talks. For people she first meets that are old than her she'll use the formal address mister, miss, etc. With people her own age Lily will avoid nicknames until she knows the person, once she knows them she'll start using nicknames. For the family, friends of the family she uses dear before their name, i.e., Dear Lynn, Dear Sister, Dear Mr. McBride, Dear Clyde and so forth**

 **With Lincoln, her parents, Albert and anyone close to her she'll call Dearest.** **Due to their falling out, Lily calls Lisa by her name, Dr. Loud or some form of insult.**

* * *

 _ **~*~*~*~Kat and Skyla~*~*~*~**_

The hours dripped by like the fresh rain that rolled off the roof of the house; rain that did not fall but pounded the town of Royal Woods with anger that was only amplified by the loud roar of the thunder that shook the sky like the wrath of a god.

Morning came, and Skyla awoke in her bed, yawning and stretching away the remained of the sleep that dwelled within her. She looked at the window and the rocking chair that sat beside it, finding her friend already awake and looking at the storm outside. Kat was rocking back and forth her knees again tucked under her chin, a stuffed rabbit held in her arms that were tucked between her legs.

"You sleep much?" Skyla asked, getting out of bed stretching before making her way over to Kat and rubbing her back.

"Not really," Kat yawned looking out the window as the wind changed making it hit the window.

"Nerves?"

"Not as bad as yesterday, think it's just the excitement for today."

Beside Skyla's desk was a little chest filled with stuffed animals that she had collected over the years mostly when she was younger; however, she would still get one here and there, adding to her "collection of cute" as she called it. Skyla reached in and pulled out a stuffed Snoopy doll that her brother Alex had won for her when she was seven from Gus's Games and Grub; she had seen the stuffed doll trapped within the claw machine. Something in her said that it was a sad place for Snoopy to be, so she asked her brother to rescue him. Ten dollars later, they had adopted Snoopy and took him home to meet the other rescued dolls in her chest.

"Think he will still come?" Kat asked.

"Something tells me it would take a lot more than a little rain to stop Lincoln Loud from doing something," Skyla told her, "let's get showered and ready for them."

 _ **~*~*~*~Lincoln and Lily~*~*~*~**_

As she always did Lily woke up first, she was curled up in her brother's arms which wasn't uncommon. Lily wiggled herself free and placed Bun-Bun in her brother's arms in her place. Grabbing a change of clothing, towel and her shower bag she headed to the bathroom to start getting ready, letting her brother sleep a bit longer.

Lily reached the stairs and the room Lynn and Lucy shared she looked to her left and saw Lori and Luna leaving, "MORNING DEAR SISTERS!" Lily called waving.

"...sister business..." Lori was telling Luna as the rocker closed the door behind them not having heard her. More sister business, honestly it seemed that was all the older girls did anymore.

Lily turned to her right and saw Lynn sitting on her bed looking at the floor deep in thought; Lily waved, "Morning Dear Lynn!" she called and got no response not unusual the five older sisters were useless in her opinion without a cup of coffee or two. Lily hated that stuff seemed anyone that started drinking it became worthless in the mornings until they had a few cups to drink while making slurping and smacking sounds that would get one sent to the kiddie table or sent away altogether over. Hypocrisy and double standards were a lesson Lily had learned early and learned well. Still, she was an optimist on the upside she'd gotten a promise from Lincoln that he'd never touch the stuff, she remembered a part of that conversation "alcohol is acceptable when you are older Dearest Brother, but please never become a coffee drinker," to which Lincoln had thankfully agreed.

Lily returned a few minutes later dressed in black shoes and leggings, a lavender skirt with matching top; she found Lincoln looking out the window at the storm trying to dampen their plans for the day, he'd already made his bed and had his stuff ready for a shower. Lily crawled onto the bed and smiled up at him.

"We might have to get a ride," Lincoln said. "I don't want you walking all that way in the rain."

"Nor I you Dearest Brother," Lily added.

"Eh, I don't mind getting dumped on," Lincoln said letting out a small laugh, getting a small frown from his little sister. It was clear Lily was going to say something about the comment, but Lincoln quickly cut her off. "How's the line to the bathroom?"

"Surprisingly none existent," Lily laid hopped off and went to make her bed, which considering she slept with Lincoln the night before consisted of straightening a wrinkle out of the blanket. The first rule the two had for their room make the bed if not the first thing in the morning then after showering, "it would appear the others left for the day, besides Dear Lynn, saw her on her bed off in her own world. I saw Dear Lori and Luna heading out the door, and no line leaves me to think everyone else is gone.

Lincoln hid the frown on his face as best he could by giving a small half smile. It had been a while since he was last allowed to join in on a sibling meeting. His other sisters always told him that they were discussing "girl stuff" and he would not want to hear any of it or it was none of his business and to butt out. That seemed like a good enough excuse at first, but as time went on, he began to get left out of important decisions regarding things like chores, new rules and planning for family trips, more than once he didn't know a trip was coming till that day and had no money ready. _Those don't sound like fucking girl stuff to me and it sure as hell seems to be my business,_ Lincoln thought to himself.

It seemed like they didn't want him around that much anymore, he couldn't remember the last time he was invited to a sibling meeting, or even to just hang out. The distance between him and his sisters was growing farther with each passing day. Once Lori moved away for school, it started a chain reaction of the others doing the same, only making that gap even wider. He really was hoping to spend as much time with them as he could before they started to leave, but it seemed that they were already leaving him behind, and they still lived in the same house.

Thankfully he had HIS Lily. The young girl had helped him to deal with a lot of that stuff. Of course, he had never told her all of his true feelings, no that would just be messed up to dump all of that into a two-year old's lap. No matter how mature she may have acted, she was still two years old and deserved to have a happy and fun life until the looming threat of adulthood came along to slowly suck the fun out, at least that was how it seemed to be with his parents.

"Well, guess I will go shower and start to get ready as well," Lincoln said, grabbing his towel and heading towards the shower.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lynn~*~*~*~**_

Lynn Loud Jr. sat on the edge of her bed and stared at a spot on the floor where Lucy had spilled a bit of her mock blood. It was not much, hardly even showed up at all, but it was on her side of the room. Lynn remembered how she had to hold back from nearly putting her fist through her sister's skull. Not her best moment. She yelled at Lucy, even made her look like she was about to cry, a look so subtle that most people would miss it, but after living with Lucy for her entire life, Lynn knew the signs.

The worst part of it was that it was not the only time she lost her cool around one of her family members. Poor Lola was too scared to be around Lynn alone any more after she'd stepped on her foot by accident causing Lynn to push the Princess to the ground and lay into the princess with a verbal tirade; as a result, Lana had taken to keeping Lynn at a distance since then, which hurt a lot. Not many people in the house liked to do the same stuff that Lynn did, but Lana was one that was always fine with playing outdoors. It wasn't unusual to see that the two biggest tomboys of the family would hang out. Of course of late Lana was keeping more and more to herself and seemed lost in thought, she'd eve traded her overalls in for a jean skirt, and her hat was rarely worn now. Since that day Lynn found herself without many friends in that house, slowly taking away the feeling that it was her home.

She wasn't sure why she was so mad as of late, sure she had her suspicions as to what was triggering everything, but why would that bleed over into her home life?

She heard the creaking of wood as Lincoln made his way to the bathroom. He was planning to leave, she just knew it, both of them. Her brother would leave her alone in the house to fail again. Lori and Luna had told her to keep an eye on them, keep them from leaving the house. She could do that, right? Just go to their room and ask as nice as possible. She could do that.

When she heard Lincoln make his way back to his room, she stood up and went to the door, stopping dead in her tracks. He would leave. She knew he would, not even stop to think about how it would make her feel. She would fail, letting Lori and Luna down, making them not trust, making them hate her. Just as her team did; she'd let them down, and now they didn't want anything to do with her. Just recently her team was knocked out of for the season because of her ban on going to the bathroom had resulted in her team having an embarrassing accident during a game. Once the officials learned how the team was made to follow Lynn's rule against using the restroom until they won they were banned for life, to make sure no other team ever did something as dangerous, Margo and Leslie had been the only girls to stand by her after that. She still hadn't told her family the truth of what happened.

 _First comes failure, then comes abandonment, and finally, comes the ridicule. Laughter, the mocking, bullying and THOSE names,_ Lynn thought of the words that cut her like scalpels, carving out what was left of her heart.

Fuck that. Lynn reached for the baseball bat. Her and Louie would make sure that Lincoln and Lily didn't leave the room. She would not fail. Not again.

 _ **~*~*~*~** **Lincoln and Lily** **~*~*~*~**_

Lincoln looked at his phone and the address that Skyla had given him. It was someplace called Temple-Shrine Grove. The place sounded somewhat familiar like he had heard the name dropped before, but could not put a picture to it.

"An interesting place to live, don't you think Dearest Brother?" Lily asked looking over to Lincoln who was looking genuinely happy for the first time in days, Lily had told the girls she was worried when he returned from his outing to get his game and came home without money and empty-handed, but with a rare genuine smile had made her decide whatever happened was a good thing. Then Skyla and Kat had visited and dropped off the game and told the girls what happened confirming Lily's suspicions.

"Guess it kinda makes sense if she is a Priestess in training," Lincoln said with a shrug of his shoulders, "You ready? Thinking we use Uber, I got a few bucks but not enough for a cab. I wanna hold on to some of the cash so we can pay for our own food."

"Shall we wait downstairs?" Lily's favorite cartoon My Little Pony would be on soon, the girls thought Lincoln got her into it, but truth be told she found it on her own and converted her brother. If any sister mocked him for watching and enjoying it with her Lily would make them regret it; such as Luna who had torn into him after a hard day at school. Lincoln still didn't know what had happened, but the rocker had left for a date with Sam and returned later that night on the verge of tears muttering an apology, turned out Luna's girlfriend was a Brony too.

"Sure, we can hang out on the couch and watch MLP while we wait."

The pair went to exit their bedroom door only to see Lynn Jr. standing in the doorway leaning against her bat. Lincoln caught the look in her eye, one what he had seen a few times before, that sick glimmer of rage, the embers of a fire, last time Lincoln saw that look was almost a year ago when Lynn had threatened him with that same bat for wanting to skip her game to have a day for himself. He instinctively stood between her and Lily, his parents and sisters kept insisting Lynn would never really swing the bat and he needed to let it go, but he was of the mind if you threaten someone with a weapon that means you are willing to use it.

"Going somewhere?" Lynn asked.

"Yeah, we are," Lincoln told her.

"Think again. we decided last night that you are staying put until we get some answers from you," Lynn told him, "when the others get back, we will be talking to you, so get back in that room and close the door."

Lincoln's eyes moved to the bat, Lynn's hands slowly moving to the handle and wrapping around it. Lori had sat him down for a lecture later that day, she'd told him Lynn would never do it, his sister loved him and would never really have swung the bat, Lincoln disagreed feeling Lynn would have swung in a heartbeat without hesitation. Well, maybe he could trust Lori on this one.

"And if we don't?" Lincoln called her bluff.

If Lincoln had blinked, he would have missed the signal, the way Lynn's eye twitched as the fire roared to life. He would feel it as the bat came he ducked in the nick of time, feeling like a stiff breeze across the back of his head. The smack of wood on wood almost sounded like a gunshot, making poor Lily jump in fright.

"Phones and laptops, hand them over," Lynn demanded.

Lincoln nodded, Lori had been wrong, Lynn would swing, and he almost paid the price for it, he avoided looking at her, too afraid now, every single fear he'd held about Lynn confirmed beyond all doubt; but a part of him was sure the girls would still try and excuse it. He looked back to Lily, who was frozen, her blood running cold. She was a statue of ice and fear, not sure if it was even safe to reach back and get her phone from her pocket. Lincoln gave her a smile to try and reassure her, which helped ease her nerves enough to pull her phone out and slide it across the floor to Lynn.

"Laptops." Lynn reminded them. To which Lincoln went and got their laptops handing them over to Lynn. " Good. You know I expected the little traitor to give in, but you surprised me Linc. After all the training I've done with you, though you might have had some balls."

Lily could handle insults tossed her way, they were after all just silly words. When someone insulted her family, her brother, she would find it hard to keep her temper in check. Lynn questioning her brother's intestinal fortitude was enough to set her off.

"HONESTLY! What is your problem, Lynn?!" Lily yelled at her sister. "You nearly took Dearest Lincoln's poor head off, and now you insult him. Imagine it, after all this time of us telling him he was wrong thinking you'd swing that bloody bat of yours at him and turns out he was right all along."

"Why you little traitor!" Lynn reached over and grabbed Lily by the arm, much harder than she intended to. The little girl winced in pain at Lynn's grip, "now you listen here you; it's time you started hanging out with the other girls and not this..."

"Goddammit Lynn! Can't you see you're hurting her?!" Lincoln yelled, "you wanna hurt someone that can't fight back you got me! Isn't that what I'm for!?"

Lynn sneered at Lincoln. Then, as if the words had suddenly sunken in, her features softened, and Lynn looked down to Lily. Tears began to flow from the little girl's eyes, eyes that not only shimmered with tears but with a fear that sent a dagger into Lynn's heart. She released Lily and stepped back, loosening her grip on the bat. Once again, she looked to Lincoln seeing only a look of disgust on his face, shocked at how she could have hurt their baby sister. She turned and shut the door behind her, going back to her room.

Lincoln checked on Lily, seeing a bruise beginning to form on the spot where Lynn had grabbed her. He led her to the bed and helped her sit down, wiping the tears from her eyes. Lincoln crawled under the bed and returned a few seconds later, holding another cell phone. Lily smiled through the pain, opening her mouth ask how.

"I'll explain later." He told her, dialing a familiar number.

He was pretty sure that the coast would be clear, the look of horror in Lynn's eyes had said that she lost her cool, then was shocked and appalled by her actions. He assumed that she did not intend to take things that far by harming Lily, swinging the bat he wasn't sure about. Either way, she was batshit crazy, and he was not taking any chances. One phone call would settle this, and they would be back on their way.

 _ **~*~*~*~** **Kat and Skyla** **~*~*~*~**_

Kat paced the room, looking to the window, then to her phone, then back down at the floor again. Granted, they had not agreed on a definitive time for Lincoln's arrival; just that it should be around noon. It was half-past eleven, and it felt to her like he was running late. It did not help that Skyla was sitting on the floor in a meditative position, after having done some work in the room while Kat showered, that appeared to point to the fact that Skyla wanted to hypnotize Lincoln.

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to trance him?" Kat said.

"First, I don't know what you are talking about. And second, I don't recall saying that, and I have an exceptional memory." Skyla said, her eyes still closed.

"Excellent memory?" Kat asked, not sure she heard her friend right.

"No, exceptional."

"When's my birthday?" Kat asked.

"July the eighth."

"What's my favorite color?"

"Pink."

Wrong!" Kat yelled. "Red. So much for that memory of yours."

"Hmmm, that's right, I always get mixed up because you look so cute in pink," Skyla smirked.

"Stop changing the subject," Kat stomped her foot blushing a little and looked away, so why are you planning to trance him?"

"Still don't recall agreeing never to do that, and I still don't quite follow you," Skyla said.

"Really?"

Skyla sat on the floor and silently nodded.

"Well let's see." She walked over to Skyla's desk where a small stick sat in a dish slowly burning, the smoke trailing up into the air. "Lavender incense burning, you spritzed the room with yuzu scent. I can't help but notice that brought out extra pillows and a blanket, as well as the sodalite stones."

"You have excellent perception," Skyla said.

"It exceptional," Kat smirked back.

Skyla opened her eyes and flashed a smile at her friend. She got up and began to stretch, preparing to do her morning Tai-Chi exercise. "I'm afraid I still don't get the point you are driving at."

Kat walked over sniffed the air around her friend. "You're wearing jasmine perfume, and your breath smells like rose water."

"How sweet of you to notice," Skyla said, starting her morning exercise.

"You can be annoying when you're playing coy," Kat remarked.

"And you can be adorable when you're annoyed." Skyla smiled back.

 _ **~*~*~*~** **Lynn** **~*~*~*~**_

Lynn once again found herself on the edge of her bed. Her mind replayed the images of what had just happened over and over again. The look of terror in Lily's eyes would haunt her for the rest of her life. She felt like shit. No, feeling like shit would be a step up.

A few tears rolled off her cheeks as she got up and walked to her closet, putting the baseball bat away. "You nearly took his head off!" Lily screamed in her memory. She'd misjudged her swing, she'd meant for the bat to pass in front of his face and certainly hadn't expected Lincoln to try and duck. The moment Lincoln went forward he put himself right in the path of Louie. _Oh my god, what would have happened if I'd swung just a little faster or if Lincoln had been a tad slower? I hit his turkey tail for crying out loud! Easy, I'd be calling 9-1-1 and hoping that my little brother would live to tell me he hated me._ That's what she wanted to hear from them all. After all the shit you put her family through, she knew they felt it. How could they not? She was nothing but trash now. Nothing but a bully and a bitch that tormented those around her, they had to hate her. Hell, she hated herself.

"God your trash Lynn." She said to herself. "You hurt your little sister; you almost bashed your brothers head in. You nothing but scum."

"LYNN MARIE LOUD!" Her bellowed from below. "GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE NOW!"

Lynn shuffled out of her room and downstairs, taking the steps slowly. She knew what was to come. Her father would yell at her for what she did. As she made her way down, a thought accrued to her. How did Lincoln call their dad? She knew she took their phones and laptops, so how was able to get a hold of him?

Lynn Loud Sr. towered over his daughter, making her wonder if she would finally get the dreaded belt that he would joke about from years. It was an ongoing joke of a threat, that his father would smack him in the ass with his belt if he got out of line. He would toss this comment out whenever the kids would step out of line, almost if to say, "Don't make me take my belt off." Of course, they all knew that it was just an idle threat, that he would never do something like that. Though now Lynn Jr. wondered if he might, after what she had done, and if she were honest with herself, she felt she deserved it.

"What's this I hear about you hurting Lily?" He said to her.

Lynn kept her mouth shut, she had no defense and would put up no fight. She'd stepped over a line that she thought she would never cross.

"She also has our laptops and phones." Lily chimed in. "Apparently the other girls decided at the last sibling meeting, which I might add he was not invited to, that we needed to be grounded."

"Well consider yourself ungrounded as of now." He told them. "Junior, go and get their phones and laptops, come back here and give them to them, apologize, then go back to your room. We will discuss this later."

Lynn nodded and did as she was told, coming back downstairs with the laptops and phones. She then went back upstairs to her room, closed the door and threw herself onto her bed, smothering her sobs with her pillow.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lynn Sr.** **~*~*~*~**_

"So, mind if I ask where you two off to in this kind of weat _ **~*~*~**_ her?" Lynn Sr. asked his only son and youngest daughter.

"Ummm, Liam's house?" Lily smiled up at him, her eyes darting back and forth like she was watching an intense game of ping pong.

"Want to try that again?" Lynn Sr. said, not taking at a bite of the bait.

"That was what we were going to tell the others if they asked," Lincoln told his father "we are actually going to meet up with two girls that I met a week ago."

"Two girls huh?" Lynn Sr. studied his son, trying to keep the excitement building in him contained.

"Yeah, Kat and Skyla, we were going to meet them at Skyla's house and maybe do lunch or something," Lincoln said.

"So why use Liam as an excuse?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Figured the girls might want to meddle, so I asked Liam to cover, knowing he could handle them if things went that far," Lincoln told him.

"Liam is a rodeo champ and he has some mean chickens," Lily added.

The father of eleven was relieved to find out that Lincoln had made some new friends, and that it appeared as he had finally moved on from Paige. He had been worried about his son, as the boy had not done much beyond wandering the house aimlessly, absorbed by some kind of mental and emotional funk that seemed to drain the energy out of him. Sure, he would still talk with his friends, and occasionally go over to their houses, but it seemed like it took all of his effort just to get off the couch or out of bed to do anything.

He and his wife, Rita, had discussed taking Lincoln to see a therapist, getting Dr. Lopez's number from Clyde's dads. For the life of him, he could not remember why they never followed through on the plan. He assumed that they just dropped it, thinking it was only a phase, and apparently, he was right, as his boy was now on his way to see, not one, but two young ladies. Though he did question why he was bringing Lily along with him.

"Okay, I will pretend you didn't try to lie to me. But I don't want you walking in this weather." Lynn Sr. said. "I'll take you over there."

Lincoln was certainly not going to complain about the free ride, even if Uber was cheaper, it was still a decent amount of money, and it was not always an easy task for Lincoln to get cash, and he would much rather spend what he had on his new friends or his little sister.

Lynn Sr. led them to the beast of a vehicle that sat in the driveway, a Volkswagen Transporter T1 Type 2 from 1979, affectionately known as Vanzilla. It was a hand me down from his father, who loved to joke that it was a hand me down from his father who got it from his father, that had seen better days. Thankfully Lana was exceptionally skilled with a wrench and kept the old girl purring, minus a few coughs here and there. Lynn Senior's father had passed the van on to him shortly before Lori was born.

Just before pulling out of the driveway, Lynn Sr. sent a text to his other daughters, telling them to drop what they were doing and to get home ASAP for a very important talk he needed to have with everyone.

As the van started and their father pulled out of the driveway, Lily turned to Lincoln. "Why the secret phone?"

"I keep a couple of burner phones hidden in our room in case of an emergency." He told her, "man, with the plan, remember." Lincoln flashed a cocky grin.

"Dearest brother you are brilliant!" Lilly hugged him.

"That is pretty clever Lincoln." Their father added. As he turned to compliment his son on his plan, he noticed that he still had his laptop, which was tucked into his backpack. "You're taking your computer with you?"

"Just in case they decide to play detective and snoop around in our computers," Lincoln told him, "nothing on there about the ladies, but I'd rather they not be spying on what we do online."

Lynn Sr. smiled at his son, finding himself quite proud at how smart Lincoln was proving himself to be. He wondered when the last time he told his son that he was indeed proud of him? Once he thought about it, he could not even remember the last time they had any quality father-son time. Sure, he was busy with work a lot, but he still managed to make time for the girls. Though, they were a lot louder and would make it a point to get time with their parents. Lincoln was not like that, preferring to wait his turn if it would come, really only speaking up when he really wanted something. Both he and Rita loved Lincoln's little presentations, Rita always bringing up how adorable he looked in his little powder blue power suit. Still, he knew that he could not count that as quality time. He made a mental note to try harder to set aside some time just Lincoln and himself.

"Oh dad, I sorta told Liam I'd try to get him a dish or two of your lasagna as a bribe for Liam," Lincoln looked at his feet shuffling them, there father was normally good at preparing his Lynn-sagna when the siblings asked, as long as they got the ingredients and didn't get to demanding with it. Still Lincoln hated to presume.

"Hmmm," Lynn Sr. pondered to himself a grin spreading over his face.

"I know that look father," Lily leaned forward, "Lori, Luan, Lincoln, Lola and Lisa all get it when they are contemplating something underhanded."

"Just thinking," Lynn Sr. chuckled to himself.

"What are you thinking?" Lincoln asked.

"We should have the girls take the lasagna to Liam personally."

"You know that won't end well," Lincoln stated.

"Exactly my point. The girls will start to pry, Liam can do whatever it is he had planned for them." Lynn Sr. said, laying out his plan for them.

Lily smiled, again the image of Lynn Jr. getting chased by a giant rooster entered her mind. Though this time her imagination took it a little beyond what she assumed would actually happen, as the rooster was now ten feet tall and shot laser beams from its eyes, burning Junior on her butt. Lily began to silently chuckle to herself.

They pulled up to the Temple-Shrine, and Lynn Sr. let the van idle as he turned to Lincoln after pulling out his wallet. He folded a couple of bills and handed them to his son with a smile. "A gentleman should always treat his ladies whenever possible."

"But dad ..." Lincoln started to say, his sentence being waved off by his father.

"I insist." He told him. "I know I don't say this to you enough Lincoln, but I love you, and I'm proud of you." He pulled his son in for a hug "Never forget that."

"I won't," Lincoln whispered.

"Now," Lynn Sr. said. "any idea how long you two plan to be?"

Lincoln and Lily looked to each other, realizing that they had never actually discussed a time limit to their visit. They both looked back to their father and shook their heads.

"That's okay, just give me a call if you need a ride." He told them.

"And you make sure to call or text when you get home so that we both know you made it safe," Lily told her father, making the man laugh.

Not many children took to responsibility as Lily did, the young girl would often act more like a proper British nanny than a two-year-old girl, but then his whole family was that way. Lisa was considered one of the smartest people in the entire state of Michigan, if not the country, and she was only four. He and Rita sometimes wondered where their children got their incredible skills, as neither of them could hold a candle to anything that their children were capable of.

"I will; you two have fun now." He told them as they got out of Vanzilla, and he made his way back home.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lincoln and Lily~*~*~*~**_

The pair followed Skyla's instructions, making their way to the area. Temple Shrine was surrounded by a massive stone wall, walking down the central street they turned onto a path lined with trees whose branches hung about them almost like lush green awnings that sheltered them from worst of the pouring rain. The path went down a way, splitting here and there going the to gates, Lincoln looked around at the houses that lay beyond them. Each house looked like it was lifted from an anime, some of them with pounds in the front yard and various types of plants and flowers that he had never seen in other parts of Royal Woods. Just off in the distance, appeared to be a Temple and some distance away he could see an actual Torii gate, the top of the building and the gate poking out behind more lush trees that acted as a barrier. Lincoln assumed this was were Skyla was learning to be a Priestess.

Lincoln texted Skyla, letting her know they were there, and trying to find her. There were so many houses and many of the nameplates and the names on the signs that Lincoln assumed told visitors who lived where were written in Japanese. Thankfully Skyla had made her way outside before they could end of getting themselves lost.

"Hey!" She called out from a gate at the end of one path waving at them to get their attention.

Lincoln and Lily walked hurried over, meeting her at the start of the walkway to her house.

"Glad you could both make it. Kat was starting to worry." Skyla smiled. "Let's get inside." She motioned for them to head to the door.

They entered the house, which looked a lot like a New Age store and a Museum gift shop had thrown up in there. The place was littered with ancient masks, weapons, and various art, that all hung on the wood-paneled walls. Armenian style rugs covered the wood floors and acted as a path that led around the house. Skyla led them upstairs to the third floor, past a series of beautiful landscape paintings that were filled with happy little trees. Bob Ross had also lived in the house.

When they got to Skyla's room, Lincoln was floored with how the young girl had her room set up. If the rest of house looked like the bastard son of a New Age shop and Museum gift shop, this room like it had had a brief affair with his favorite game store, Green Phoenix. Aside from the little statues of what Lincoln assumed were gods, that sat on the shelves along the wall, there were also many video game, anime, and comic book posters along the walls. One that caught his eye was a framed poster of Mary Marvel done in a cartoonish style.

"That is a rare print done by the late Mike Wieringo," Skyla said, taking notice him looking at the framed piece of art. "My brother introduced me to him, saying that comics stopped being fun the day he died."

Lincoln had heard the name at the shop once, as Johnny suggested that he read a book by the name called Tellos, he felt it would be right down Lincoln's alley.

Lincoln noticed something that he recognized from some of the anime and Asian cinema that he sometimes watched. On a shelf was a Kamidana, a Shinto home alter. Again, nothing like when he went to Clyde's or Liam's houses, this place felt like he should have dressed up or something.

"You have a lovely home dear Skyla," Lily said. "something about the atmosphere to be most soothing." She young girl rubbed the bruise on her arm that Lynn marked her with.

"Oh dear!" Skyla said, rushing to Lily's side. "What on Earth happened to your arm?"

"Lynn." Lincoln spat, still enraged and disappointed in his sister. Though when he thought back to it, all of the emotion seemed to be drained from her when their father yelled at her. That should have brought him some joy, but something about it felt off.

"She attempted to keep us in our room until the others returned," Lily told Skyla, "thankfully Lincoln is quite the clever one." She turned to smile at her brother, getting a smile back.

"I decided that I will be doing this training that you talked about," Lincoln's body was sudden;y still his fist balled a small sneer on his lips, his eyes glazed overlooking in the distance and his voice almost a whisper, "if she ever touches Lily or me again, I'll break her."

"Don't worry Little One, we will make sure that the next time they pull a stunt like this, it will be the last time," Skyla smiled touching Lincoln's shoulder bringing him back from whatever dark place he'd just gone, "Now have a seat while I go see where our kitten is hiding."

As Skyla left the room and Lily and Lincoln sat down, he could not help but think back to what Skyla had just said. "They." The word sat on his mind like a bad burrito sits in your stomach. Had they, meaning his sisters of course, really been that bad with him? Sure they screwed up AOT. And would butt in on a nonstop basis. But they had never really hurt him, at least not physically, except for Lynn. There were some idle threats tossed about here and there, but nothing the Lincoln took to be all that serious. Lori like to boast about turning people into a human pretzel, even chased them around the house, but she would give up as quick as she started. Outside of the occasional fights for the remote or other trivial items, they never sought out to hurt him, not like Lynn had done. Yet he always lumped all the sisters in with Lynn, as if they were this collective, like the Borg, working to do nothing but hurt him.

Was that really fair of him to think like that? To be honest, he didn't know, his head was telling him it was right, that they kept bringing this all on themselves. They would either never let him be, or completely throw him to the side like yesterday's garbage. While his heart was telling him to give them the benefit of the doubt, to try talking to them. Sure, they didn't invite him to join their meetings anymore, but maybe they just forgot about him. After all, how often did they all forget about poor little Lucy? He didn't know what to think or what to do, all he knew was that something in that room smelled good and he was starting to feel very relaxed a little sleepy even.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lori~*~*~*~**_

Getting home to an irate father who put the blame squarely on her, did little to improve the mood Lori was in. Her day was supposed to be a pretty good one. Chat with Bobby, go grab breakfast with Dana and Whitney, then come home and try to have a heart to heart with the little brother and solve the issues plaguing him added to the stress and worry of her sleepless nights.

Instead, her chat with Bobby got canceled, and her breakfast group canceled just after she ordered their meals, then she comes home to her father thrusting all the blame of Junior attacking their little brother and sister on her, as well as telling her that she was very selfish for not including Lincoln in the sibling meetings. Needless to say, her attitude nearly cost her a lot more as she was very tempted to say "Fuck you, daddy, maybe if you and mom worked less I wouldn't be playing mother all the damn time and could get into a decent fucking school." Oh, how she wanted to say that. But she played the bigger person, bit her tongue, and just nodded as he vented on her. She couldn't really blame him that much anyway, after learning about Lynn's actions she wanted to tear her apart with her bare hands.

The day after the whole "bad luck" business she'd given Lincoln a stern talking to about how Lynn would never really hurt him with a bat, and he should have known better. Then she told Lincoln that he would be paying her back for her golf clubs, she kept the receipt and pulled it out if he complained about that day as he still owed her money for them. Fine, she'd splurged a little and got a higher quality set when all she really needed to do was replace her sand wedge, but still, it was to teach him a lesson.

Now Lynn had made a liar out of her and actually swung at Lincoln, she went to his room and felt the impact site on the door frame; Lincoln claimed he needed to duck to avoid getting hit. Lori wanted to believe it was an exaggeration, but somehow she doubted it.

Lori returned to her room and ripped up the receipt for the gold clubs then gathered the other girls, getting permission from their father to pull Lynn from her's so they could all have shot at the hot-headed sports fanatic. To say that they were all pissed at her actions would like saying Luna enjoyed music, or Luan would sometimes make puns. Their patience with their sister was running on E.

"Goddammit Lynn! I said to TRY and keep them here, not to force them to stay!" Lori slammed her fist on her dresser, "and why the hell did you hurt Lily?"

"That was seriously messed up dude," Luna leaned against the door one foot against the frame arms crossed glaring at Lynn.

Lynn hung her head and didn't utter a word.

"And a baseball bat? Lynn, you know you could have really hurt Lincoln if you'd hit him," Luan shook her head trying to shake the mental image of her brother laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Lisa walked into Lynns line of sight, while she was looking down the genius Loud was small enough to stand where she'd have to see her, "were you aware that our male sibling was planning to leave our dwelling? Lisa asked.

Lynn shook her head.

"Dude! You mean you went batshit crazy for no reason at all?!" Luna stalked forward cracking her knuckles before Leni but a hand on her shoulder, "how did you know they weren't just going to the living room to watch TV or something?"

Lynn shrugged her shoulders.

Lori noticed that Lynn was not acting like herself, all the fight had been taken out of her. She would have assumed it was due to the yelling her father gave her earlier, but he told her that she was acting like that when he got home. Remorse was nothing new to Lynn, the girl often took things too far, though not nearly to the level she was taking them lately. Still, whenever she was confronted on her actions, there was still a bit of fight left in her. She would sometimes yell back or at least try her best to defend her actions. The Lynn standing before them now was nothing but a shell of the girl they all knew.

Before Lori could ask anything else, there was a knock on the door and their father had entered.

"Girls, I made Liam two dishes of lasagna for payment ... for a uh thing that he did for your brother." Lynn Sr. said. "Could you do me a favor and take them over to him?" A Cheshire cat grin spread over his face.

"You require all ten of us to deliver this pasta dish to a friend of Lincoln's?" Lisa arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes I do." Lynn Sr. said.

Lori and Lisa exchanged glances, knowing there was far more to this story then what their father was getting at. The man was a terrible liar, something that many of the kids had inherited. Still, Lori knew that if they questioned him too much or simply declined to do the favor, he would yell and ground them. Besides, Lincoln told their father that he was going over to Liam's house, maybe they could talk to him there and at least apologize for their part in what Lynn did.

"Sure dad, we can do it," Lori said grabbing her pocketbook.

As they all went downstairs to grab some umbrellas and make their way to Vanzilla, Lynn Sr. pulled Lori aside. The oldest of eleven assumed she was going to get another ear full for the patriarch of the family but was surprised by what had said to her.

"Do me another favor Lori, see if you and the others can find out what is going on with Lynn." He told her. "It's bad enough that Lincoln has been acting weird, but now we have Lynn to worry about as well."

"I'll do my best dad," Lori said sighing.

"I know you will, that's why I always trust you to take care of them." He smiled.

Lori smiled back, though she could not help but feel a little bad about what she wanted to tell him earlier. She chalked it up to stress and anger getting the better of her. I would not be the first time that those things caused her to think or do something stupid.

As she went downstairs to meet up with the others, Lori wondered about her family. Lincoln was acting strange, almost like he was depressed or something, Lynn was flying off the handle and now seemed to be acting like an emotionless automaton. There was Luna and her decision to keep Sam a secret from everyone, then Lucy with her gloomy personality and dark poetry had the majority convinced that she was cutting herself even if no one could find any evidence. Then, of course, her own issues. She wondered how much more they could take and just what the hell was going on with them all.


	3. Chicken Run

**~The Girls~**

The drive to Liam's farm could be described in two words: Wet and awkward. Lori was glad she had not expressed that thought outwardly to the others, lord knew that Luan would have a field day with it.

It was wet because it was still raining; outside of Vanzilla, the streets were beginning to look more like rivers. Lori wished their parents had let Lisa and Lana install the floatation system they were working on. A cartoon image of the van with giant raft like tires, floating down the street entered her mind. It was an image that was right up there with the one she had earlier, of seeing two of every animal on the side of the road, in a line to enter a new ark. That's how the rain felt.

The overwhelming feeling of awkwardness came from the silence and negative vibes between the majority of sisters and one Lynn Loud Jr. The others were still pretty pissed at her for her actions towards Lincoln and Lily. Lori still had some bitter feelings about the subject, but they were starting to give way to more and more concern over what Lynn's issue was. The girl always seemed to have a bug up her ass, but now that but had turned into a six-foot-long carnivorous worm that was slowly eating it's way out of Lynn's ass, putting the girl into major bitch mode.

As they were coming to the outskirts of town, more trees began to pop up, along with long stretches of green grass. A few scattered country homes loomed off in the distance, wood and barbed wire fences keeping them from the rest of the world. A few of them had large posts or wooden archways with family names carved into wooden planks. Lori thought back to a trip the family took to Texas just before their mother learned she was pregnant with Lincoln. The homes reminded her of that trip.

If not for the fact that Lori had made this drive a few times before, dropping Lincoln off or picking him up, she would have been a little worried, as it was hard to see the address numbers for the house that hung on the fences or archways. But having done this before, she knew a sure fire way to recognize Liam's family's farm.

They came up to a property that had a large wooden archway, standing about ten or fifteen feet tall, with the skull of a bull hanging above a sign with Liam's family name, O'Sullivan. Lori turned right and followed the dirt, now muddy, trail that led them towards the rear of the house. They passed a group of flag poles, flying special storm flags for America, Ireland, and Texas. Lori noticed there was nothing there for Michigan. The O'Sullivan's where a very proud and patriotic lot, loyal to the places their family had called home over the years.

Lori pulled to a spot in back next to a large white pick up truck with a camper. She assumed it was Mr. O'Sullivan's. As they parked the rain began to slow to a light drizzle, which Lori was thankful for, the last thing she needed was one of the kids running to Liam's porch, tripping, and sliding in the mud, all to avoid getting soaked by the rain.

They got out and walked to the porch, going up the steps and on to a wooden deck that appeared to run along the entire side of the house. Lori went to the door, rang the doorbell and waited, taking one of the glass casserole dishes from Leni. Liam answered the door and looked up at the smiling blonde holding his payment for covering for Lincoln.

"Well hello there, ladies, what brings Y'all over to my little slice of heaven?" He smiled through the screen door.

"Our dad said you did a favor for him and Lincoln and wanted us to deliver your payment," Lori said, looking down at the two dishes of lasagna in she and Leni had.

"Your dad's lasagna is right up there with my dad's barbecue ribs, " Liam said, smacking his watering lips. He opened the screen and started to take the dish from Lori's hands. "Let me go ahead and take those off your hands there," he walked back inside and set the first dish on an island in the center of the kitchen. "You ladies want any snacks or something to drink? We got fresh lemonade."

Lori looked back at the others, who all shook their heads no, "no thanks," she handed Liam the other dish. "But there is something we would like to talk to you about."

Liam came back out and motioned for the girls to have a seat.

The back porch was decorated with a rocking swing, a few chairs, with a table in the center, and some plants that hung from the awning that covered the deck. The twins and Lisa took the swing, while most of the others took the chairs around the table. Lori and Lynn chose to stand, the sporting teen leaning up against the railing that cut off the edge of the deck.

"So, what can I do for Y'all?" Liam said, knowing full well what they were about to ask him.

Lori looked Liam dead in the eyes making him take a step back, "tells us what you know about Lincoln."

 **~Skyla~**

Skyla went in search of her friend. She had expected Kat to still be in the room when she went to get Lincoln and Lily and was surprised that she wasn't. Thankfully she is pretty quick with a little white lie when the need arose. Still, she tried not to make a habit of lying to her friends, it was often a very slippery slope, and she had already taken that nose dive off the cliff and into a pool of her lies more than once in the past; it was a pretty embarrassing experience she didn't want to repeat..

She walked downstairs and turned the corner into the dining room, passing the glass case her mother kept all of her porcelain dolls in. They all sparkled as if freshly polished, which meant her mother was into her summer cleaning phase. She loved to do a good deep clean on the house to clear out the dust and bad vibes from the previous season. She was either getting a late start on summer or an early start on fall.

She entered the kitchen to see Kat leaning against the counter holding a bag of cookies in one hand, while her other hand shoved the sweet treats into her mouth. Skyla knew that Kat would turn to the cookies when the nerves were taking hold. She went to cookies like a high school shop teacher went to booze.

Skyla went over and joined her friend, hopping up on the counter, something she hoped her mother would not catch her doing, "you okay Kitten?" She asked.

"I don't understand why I'm nervous," Kat said, a shaky hand moving up to stuff another cookie in her mouth.

"It's natural to be nervous when you like someone. Your brain likes to make you think of all the ways you can screw it up," Skyla told her.

"Not helping Sky," Kat munched on another cookie.

"What I mean is, your brain will try to trip you up," She said, as she kicked her feet, "it acts as the defense for your heart. The problem is, all the what if's sort of scare you."

Kat looked to Skyla, slowly putting another cookie in her mouth.

"Got your attention huh?" Skyla smirked and lay on the counter her nose now close to Kat's forehead, "so, with your brain scaring you into not trying for what you want, your heart comes back like a stubborn toddler in a toy store, saying that it wants what it wants."

"I feel like you are trying to tell me I am acting like a child," Kat said with a mouth full of cookie and a hand on her hip.

"Not at all, Kitten. You know me well enough to know I would just come out and say it. Now put the cookies down, it's time for your play date, and we don't want you getting a tummy ache." Skyla said with a grin.

"Now that I know was an insult," Kat said, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

Skyla jumped off the counter and put an arm around Kat, "come on Hun; we got guests, let's go greet them." Skyla started to walk her back through the dining room and up the stairs, taking the bag of cookies with her.

 **~Loud Sisters and Liam~**

"I don't know what to tell ya, Lori," Liam rubbed the back of his head, "I have no clue where Lincoln is."

Lynn stood off in the corner, her temperature rising as she let the fire deep within boil her blood. She knew that Liam knew more then what he was telling them, and Lori didn't have the stomach to push hard enough to get the information. She was going soft, losing her edge and letting the family fall apart around her. The girls should have done like they always did once they suspected something was going on; kick in Lincoln's door then make him talk whether he wanted to or not. Instead, they were on a damn farm, feeding one of Lincoln's friends and trying to get the information by kissing his ass. This was bullshit, and she was getting tired of having to smell it.

"We thought he was coming over here to see you," Lori said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, might as well tell ya since ya can see he ain't around here," Liam said, "That was all a ... whatcha, call it? A ruse! That's it. A little diversion tactic to throw Y'all off his trail."

"Our male sibling must have deduced that we would involve ourselves in his course of action," Lisa stated.

Liam looked at Lisa then back to Lori then repeated the action his jaw hanging slightly open, "what she say?" the country boy asked, scratching his head as he tried to understand the resident genius of the Loud family.

"She said that he must have known we would meddle," Lori told him.

Liam nodded his head in understanding.

Lori couldn't say she was shocked that Lincoln would do something like this, or that he could. She was, however, a little surprised at how far ahead of her he was. Knowing that they would follow him, he set up a diversion and managed to get a hold of their father after Lynn had taken his computer and phone. He really was starting to live up to the name "The Man with the Plan."

"Okay, I'm tired of this shit," Lynn said, moving over to Liam. "I know you know more than you are letting on you little prick, so tell us or I will smack you face clean off."

Liam saw that the young bull known as Lynn was looking like she had seen a mess of red, and it was all painted on him. He quickly sidestepped her as the enraged athlete lunged for him. Lynn nearly took the whole table over as she fell into Liam's seat. She turned to see the small country boy standing near the steps that led down to the yard. She flipped the chair over and started to run for Liam, who yelped, and ran as fast as his little legs could take him, heading for the barn.

Lori stood in stunned silence, like the rest of the girls, watching as Lynn ignored the stairs and jumped from the deck to the ground, rolling with her momentum and back to her feet to continue her chase.

Liam ran like his life depended on it because in his mind it did. He was a tough kid for his age, and a Junior Rodeo Champion, but Lynn was an athlete of another caliber. She trained day in and day out, working in martial arts, baseball (before being banned for life), football, and other types of highly competitive sports. Between the added age, experience, amount of training, and best not forget the height and weight, she was better than him. If she caught him and this turned into a fight, well he didn't want to think about it. But he didn't tie up bulls by overpowering them; he outsmarted them.

Since they were on his farm, he knew the lay of the land, as well as where to lead Lynn. Her raging temper was another way he had the edge over her. Once the switch in Lynn's mind was flipped, and she was in full on rage mode, she was blinded to everything else. He knew just where to take her.

The door was open just a crack, and it took Liam a few seconds to put on the breaks and skid to a complete stop. Once he slid into the door, he quickly opened in the rest of the way, just as Lynn was nearing him. He disappeared into the barn, letting the darkness swallow him whole. As Lynn dear closer she slowed down and began to inch towards the open door, not sure what was waiting for her on the other side. There was a loud "Ba-Caw!" that came from the darkness, and soon Liam came out as well, flanked by a group of giant roosters, each one nearing Lynn in size and ferocity.

"Sorry to do this to ya, little lady," Liam said, a look of remorse and relief battled across his face.

"D-Do what?" Lynn asked, her nerve wavering. " You don't think I can handle a few chickens? I can kick a chicken's ass." She said, more convince herself than Liam.

"These ain't chickens darling," Liam told her. "These are Brahma roosters, and giants even by that breed's standards, and these boys are as mean and as cold as a mother in laws kiss."

One of the roosters cawed and snipped at Lynn with its beak, making the girl jump back a few inches. She scattered, running back towards the house, the largest of the roosters chasing her. It let out a mighty cry, one that gathered the attention of the girls on the porch; they'd been arguing who should go and rescue Lynn now all craned their necks to look out in the direction of the noise. It wasn't long before they saw Lynn running for her life from a chicken that was nearly the same size as her.

"Dude! Look at that thing!" Luna yelled, her jaw dropping.

"What is that?" Luan asked. "I mean I like a big c ...MPRH!?"

Lori's hand was quick to silence that that sentence. Sure, her and the others had used inappropriate language around the little girls before, but they had not brought up the topic of sex. The last things she wanted was for Lana, or god forbid Lola, asking her questions as to why Luan liked a big cock, or what that even meant.

Lori leaned in close and whispered in Luan's ear, "finish that joke Lu, and I will take away you and Luna's little pink friends for a couple of weeks," Lori gave Luan a cold smile, "and you can explain to Luna what happened and why."

Luan swallowed as she weighed her options. She hated having her jokes cut off like that, but then she knew how bad Luna could get if she lost her little toy. She begrudgingly nodded in agreement with Lori.

Liam slowly walked back to the porch and watched with the others as Lynn ran from the rooster like Tom would run from Spike on those old Tom & Jerry cartoons. Just like that cat, Lynn thought herself all tough and brave, until someone or something bigger and badder came along and put her in her place.

"What is that?" Lola asked, giggling as Lynn pleaded with the bird, then tossing rocks and pebbles at it.

"That's Chuck Norris, our biggest of the Brahmas we got on the farm," Liam told her leaning against the railing and watching Lynn run past the porch. "We call him Chuck Norris because he can kick any animals ass on the farm. One time he even whooped a wild dog that came a calling for some of the chickens in the coop. Ol' Chuck there pecked the hell outta that mutt, and sent it whimpering away."

"Is Lynn going die?" Leni asked, a little worried about her sister.

"Nah, he will give in once he feels he put her in her place."

"Man, that thing looks like it might devolve back into a T-Rex at any second," Lana was leaning forward wanting a better look at the massive rooster.

"Scientifically impossible dear sister, for you see... " Lisa began to explain in her lecturing tone holding a finger in the air before getting cut off.

"I'm aware of the that Lisa. I'm not a dummy," Lana rolled her eyes shaking her head, "I was just trying to convey my feeling of surprise by the size of the rooster trying to eat our sister."

Lisa started to speak, but Lana quickly cut her off, "That was also hyperbole, now moving on; the others are also aware that my comment was not intended as being, in any way, a factual statement. Being so particular on the practicality or even possibility of my words being literally true, is pedantic, to say the least, if not arguably pretentious." With that, Lana turned her attention back to the chase as Lynn dove under a trailer full of firewood only to be chased out again.

The other girls, and Liam, all turned to Lana and looked at the handy girl with utter surprise. To say they were stunned by the six-year old's comments would be an understatement, to say the least. This was the same girl who once commented that she wished they had chocolate and strawberry flavored boogers. Now she had put Lisa in her place, almost talking down to the genius.

"Well, uh, yes ... " Lisa said her eyes wide, mouth slightly opened and arms hanging at her side.

Lynn found herself surrounded as she slowly backed away reenacting a scene from that dinosaur movie Lincoln had been watching downstairs with their father while she waited for Margo's parents to pick her up. Lynn backed up bent over arms outstretched until she felt the hard bark of a tree on her back. The roosters did remind her of a pack of raptors as they slowly moved forward. _'Caught between a cock and a hard place.'_ Lynn thought she was sure Luan would be proud of her for that pun while Lori would threaten to take their little friends away.

"So," the athlete started to say, "I don't suppose you chickens would be willing to let a girl off with a warning would you?" Lynn gave the roosters her best puppy dog eyes.

"Ba-Gok!" Chuck Norris cried.

"Heh, didn't think so."

Lynn quickly turned around and began to climb up the tree, Chuck Norris pecking at her butt and legs, making her cry out in pain. She shimmied herself to a low branch and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uhhh, Lynn?" Liam called out from the porch. "Chickens can fly short distances."

"Fuck me!" Lynn yelled, just as Chuck Norris flew up to the branch and started to peck at her hands, sending her crashing to the, luckily, soft ground below.

"Ummm, Liam?" Leni decided to try a much more subtle approach. "You sure you don't know anything else about Lincoln and where he is?"

Liam looked to Leni, those soft blue eyes like an ocean of calm and comfort. He would hate to stare into those eyes and see and an ounce of pain, as Axel Rose would say. To be honest, he never understood why Clyde was so hung up on Lori; it was Leni that was the sweetheart of the bunch.

"I wish I could tell you Leni, I really do." He said to her. "But he didn't tell me where he was going." Which was actually true, Lincoln never told him where he was going to meet with these girls of his, just that he was going to. God, he loved loopholes.

"Well ... can you at least tell us what is up with him?" Lori asked putting her best puppy dog eyes on full blast. "We are really worried; he seems so sad lately."

Liam was surprised that it took the girls this long to notice his change in moods. The truth was that he had been like that for a while now. He could not place the exact moment when Lincoln started acting depressed, and he never did open up to him about it. Liam assumed it was because they were good friends, but just not the kind of friends who shared their inner demons. Though, he bet Clyde knew what was eating his friend.

"Wish I could tell you guys what was up with him. Whatever it is, it has been nagging at him for a little while now." Liam told them. "I'm a little surprised you guys are just now noticing."

"Do you know exactly how long he had been like this?" Lori asked.

"Nope, at least not when he started. I noticed it back around January or so." He told them. "But I can tell ya that it has gotten a little better once Lily moved in with him. He sure loves that Lil' spud."

Luna felt a tug at her heart from the green jealousy fairy that popped up in her life about the same time that Lily and Lincoln started to get really close.

The girls stood around and pondered on their brother's condition for a little bit, trying to fix the new pieces into the puzzle, hoping for a more clear picture into the mental and emotional state of their brother. They were suddenly pulled from their thoughts, yanked from the mental calm and silent melancholy of their own inner sanctum, by Lynn's scream as she ran from Chuck Norris and the other roosters.

The girls and Liam all watched as the chase came to its climactic conclusion, ending with Lynn slipping on a fresh puddle of mud, which sent her into the pig pen. The poor girl landed head first, with legs sticking straight up like little twigs growing from a massive pile of shit.

With a final and mighty "Ba-gok!", Chuck Norris bopped his head at her, then turned around and kicked dirt at her. The rooster strutted away, the other roosters in tow, and made there way back towards the chicken coop.

"Now that's what I call a cocky strut," Luan joked, getting a roar of laughter from Liam.

"You may want her to shower before taking her home," Liam told them, calming down and wiping a tear from his eye.

"Was the pen full of ...?" Luna slowly covered her mouth.

"Yep," Liam said with a nod.

"Well, that seems like a shitty experience." Luan joked, getting another Laugh from Liam.

"I'll go get the shower ready and find her a fresh pair of clothes," Liam said, getting up and heading back in before stopping and turning back to Luan. "You're a funny one girl."

Luan turned to her sisters pointing at Liam. "See, HE thinks I'm funny. HE laughs at my jokes."

"He doesn't live with you!" Luna playfully shoved her sister.

 **~Skyla~**

Skyla entered the room to find Lincoln and Lily in a very relaxed mood. She smiled to herself, as it seemed the incense and scented waters had done their work, the two seemed to be nearing the ledge of slumber, struggling to keep their balance. Lily looked much closer than Lincoln; the little girl seemed to be fighting the sandman tooth and nail, trying to stay awake so she could spend time with her brother and new friends. Lincoln appeared to be just calm, a goofy grin on his face. He reminded Skyla of that stoner who worked at the ice cream parlor near the park, the one who always a childlike grin of wonderment, as he looked up at the tv in the shop, watching reruns of Looney Tunes and Johnny Test.

Thankfully Lincoln had achieved his state of calm through a much more smiled upon means, calming scents.

"Look who I found?" Skyla said. "And she was kind enough to bring snacks." She shook the half-empty bag of cookies.

"Oh, wonderful!" Lily said, shooting herself awake. "Thank you, Katherine." She yawned, shook her head, and appeared a bit annoyed with herself for feeling tired. "I do apologize; I'm finding it quite hard to stay awake." She stretched.

"Actually, Lilybug, I should apologize. The spritz scents and incense were meant to help you relax; I think they have done a better job than I imagined." Skyla said. "Plus you have had a stressful morning little lady, what with Lynn threatening you."

"What?!" Kat yelled. "Lynn threatened you both?"

"I'm afraid so." Lily nodded, stick out her bottom lip. "She was just dreadful."

Kat went over and checked on Lily, seeing the bruise on her arm. She could feel her blood boil. She wanted to have a little chat with Lynn herself, maybe sneak out her father's brass knucks from his weapons case, use them as a conversation starter.

"Apparently she also threatened Lincoln with a baseball bat, nearly taking his head off," Skyla added.

"That girl is out of control," Kat said, trying to keep her composer.

"Apparently our sisters decided to ground us in a secret meeting that neither I nor Lily, were invited to," Lincoln said. "Lynn was given the job of keeping us detained and thought a baseball bat would make a good partner for the job."

"I never imagined I would ever feel that frightened by one of my own siblings. Simply dreadful." Lily shook her head. "Thankfully dearest Lincoln here is, as he likes to say, the man with the plan. He had emergency phones put away for just such an occasion."

"Didn't picture that particular scenario when I set up my plan, but it worked out for the most part," Lincoln said.

"It sounds as if you both had a very troubling day." A voice said from behind Skyla and Kat.

They all turned to see a man in the doorway, his shaggy black hair enhanced the round soft features of his face, while his easy smile lit the room with a further sense of calm. A black polo shirt hung loosely on his frame; half tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans that also appeared loose fitting. His relaxed look was completed by a pair of white socks with one black slipper and one red slipper like he had lost one of each pair and just threw those two together.

"Hello, father." Skyla went over and gave the man a hug.

"Lincoln, Lily, this is Shinjiro Miyamoto, Skyla's dad." Kat introduced them.

"Is this the little one you are always talking about?" Mr. Miyamoto asked his daughter, getting a nod. "It's nice to finally meet you Lincoln. My daughter and her friend have talked about you a lot since they met you."

Lincoln thought that was funny as they didn't really know much about him. Apparently, he was pretty decent at making a first impression.

"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Miyamoto," Lincoln said.

"It's a pleasure sir," Lily added.

Mr. Miyamoto walked over to Lily, reaching into the pocket on his shirt and pulling out a pair of glasses. He knelt down to her lever and motioned for her to come to him. "So someone hurt you, my dear?" He asked, inspecting her bruise.

"Yes, my older sister," Lily said.

Mr. Miyamoto hated to see a child injured, and one at the hand of a fellow family member just made him both angry and sad. He did not know the reason for the attack, but he hoped that the young lady would eventually find help dealing with her anger. Unleashing it on her family was going to do nothing but drive them away from her. In the meantime, however, he would help Lincoln by setting him up with a trainer if he wanted to learn Martial Arts. He had already contacted a friend of his who was willing to teach him.

"Well, I will have Akari run up with some salve that should help dull any pain as well as help with healing." He told them. "In the meantime, I suggest that you lay down and perhaps take a nap. You appear to be very tired."

"I'll..." Lily yawned, "manage.

Mr. Miyamoto smiled at the group and left the room. While most fathers would be concerned with a boy in their daughter's room, he knew his children well, raise them in an open and trusting house, so he knew that nothing funny was going on. Besides, she was still too young to do anything with a boy anyhow.

"You know he is right; a nap would be good for you. Can't keep fighting off sleep you know." Lincoln told his sister.

"A nap would be…" Lily yawned again, "…unnecessary…"

"Heh, you don't really need to worry sis, we'll hold off on having any fun till you wake up." Lincoln smiled at her.

"You can use my bed," Skyla offered.

"Or we could go out to the guest house around back," Kat said, looking to Skyla. "We can get noisy at times, and this way we won't disturb the rest of the house.

"But I haven't… Prepared the guest house like I have here," Skyla smiled. Earning her a knowing look from Kat. "Though I suppose I could always burn incense and spritz the guest house." Skyla smiled right back earning her a frustrated look from Kat.

Lily leaned into her brother, whispering into his ear. "These two appear to be acting odd. What do you suspect is the trouble?"

"You're the girl you tell me! I've learned the hard way not to try and guess." Lincoln responded, talking louder than he had intended to.

"That's right! You were behind the girl guru thing!" Kat exclaimed.

"Don't remind me." Lincoln sighed, feeling a familiar feeling of dread, panic, and downright depression due to the fall out of that incident. "Not my proudest moment." Lincoln hung his head in shame. To this day he was a pariah in large sections of Royal Woods Elementary.

"Can I ask what you were thin… OAF!" Kat once again found herself on the receiving end of a sharp elbow from her soon to be ex-friend. "Alright! You do that one more time, and I don't care how much Kung Fu you know, I will bitch slap you."

"Well stop being so blunt!" Skyla shook her head.

"Well ummm… To be blunt I was desperate," Lincoln said, that day once again flashed across the screen in his mind like a sad movie where you know the ending is going to suck, but you just can't turn your head to look away. "See, the original plan was that Clyde and I were going to sell chocolate pies. Went out and got the chocolate and the pie crusts with the funds the school gave us. But my sisters stole the chocolate and ate it. All of it. Every. Single. Bit."

This was apparently still a sore spot for Lincoln, as both Kat and Skyla could feel the tension in his voice, lingering on every word he spoke.

"Had to pay back the chocolate AND make enough to pass the class. My advice to others had been working wonderfully so why not? Of course, you know how it ended," He told them, "I had to humiliate myself to do that, and it was nothing compared to the teasing at home that went on for the next month or so."

"Did they at least pay you back for the pies?" Kat asked.

"Heh, no, no of course not they nev…" He paused for a second. He didn't like talking bad about his sisters or the misadventures he had with them. It wasn't all their fault; he brought a lot of this stuff on himself. "Well never mind that, we just met I shouldn't be airing the family's dirty laundry. Also, I don't want you to think they are bad people or I'm some kind of saint you know?" Lincoln smiled at the girls.

Skyla was starting to put two and two together, the larger picture coming into view. Obviously, Lincoln wasn't a saint, heck who was? Everyone had that little devil and angel on their shoulder on a daily basis. Some listened to the devil more, while others listened to the angel more. Either way, there really was no such thing a bad person, just a person who made bad decisions. She was sure there were flaws that Lincoln had, just like she and Kat had. Still, it seemed like a lot of things had happened to him and he was bottling it all up. The problem with doing that was, like a bottle of pop, it can get all shook up, and when it finally comes out, BOOM! Emotional mess everywhere. The boy in front of them was beginning to show the signs of being a shook-up bottle of an emotional shit storm.

"Lincoln," Skyla laid a hand on his shoulder, "this is a safe place. Whatever is bothering you, whatever you have on your mind, you can talk to us. We understand that your sisters are not demons. We get that they make mistakes, just," she hesitated searching for the right words, "they are decent girls who sometimes do less than decent things to you."

As Skyla talked, Kat looked into his eyes, seeing the faint shimmer of tears stuck behind stubborn eyes. She wanted to hug him, tell him it was all going to alright, that she would be there to pick up the pieces if he fell. She wanted to do a lot of things, but she sat back and watched her best friend do something that she was still not cool with pulling Lincoln into a tight hug and rubbing his back. She could never bring herself to hate Skyla, she loved Skyla and trusted the Asian girl with her own life. Still, there was a bitter taste in her heart, one that found its way down to that little crack in her heart.

"Oh wow, your shoulders are stiff, maybe," Skyla said. "Maybe while Lilly naps we can work out some of that tension."

The Littlest Loud, who was already resting her head in her arms, stuck an arm straight in the air pointing her finger towards the ceiling. "No! No nap." Lily said simply; then her head fell back into the little cradle her arms made up.

"Why don't I tuck her into bed and Kat can help your stiff shoulders?" Skyla smiled back to Kat, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Well, I ummm…." Lincoln blushed.

"I well…." Kat blushed as well.

"Oh, come now Kat," Skya smirked. "You weren't like this at Burpin' Burger. I think he has earned himself a nice massage. Help him relax and forget about all his troubles ... or ... I could always relax him." She winked at her friend, knowing full well she would get the message.

"ONE MASSAGE COMING UP!" Kat made her way over to Lincoln, helping him to his feet and leading him to a corner of Skyla's room where a cabinet was built into the wall. She pulled a string coming from the cabinet, bring down a fold-out massage table.

"Well, that sure is handy to have around." Lincoln joked.

Kat helped him to lay down on the table, getting some essential oils and instructing him to take off his shirt. Then walked around and started to run her hands along his shoulders, neck, and back. About ten minutes later the boy was snoring softly.

While this had been going on Skyla had taken Lily to lay down for a cuddle session. Soon she was fast asleep in Skyla's arms who continued to stroke the little lady's hair.

"Okay, Skyla enough," Kat hissed in a hushed voice. "What are you up to? Tell me, or I'll hide your crystals and beads." Kat nodded around the room to her huge collection.

Skyla looked to Kat, the coy and joking nature that was there earlier and bled out, leaving behind a solemn look, one that made Kat step back. She had only seen her friend with that look a few times, and what followed was rarely pleasant.

"Do you trust me, Kathrine?" Skyla asked.

"O-of course," Kat said looking away.

"Because I really need you to trust me now," Skyla said. "I know you don't want me to trance him so soon, but he needs our help. And we need to help him because he is keeping a lot held back. It's not good for him or those around him," she nodded to Lily who muttered Lincoln's name in her sleep. "I need your help in getting Lincoln to let this out before something terrible happens."


	4. Preparations

**_~ Lynn ~_**

As Lynn turned on the water in the shower and undressed, she quickly decided two things. One that she would never live on a farm, and two, that they would be eating chicken for dinner tonight. Her smirk faded like smoke in the wind, smoke from the fire that sent her into a rage that nearly got her pecked to death by a giant fucking rooster. Of all the things that Lynn had expected this day to bring, her humiliation at the beak of Cockzilla was not amongst them.

She knew she fucked up, letting her temper take her by the throat and drag her ass into another fine mess. Still, this all should have been a lot more simple than it was turning out to be.

 _If Lincoln and Lily had stayed put like I asked... no, like I tried to make them, they could have gotten the dirt on what the hell was up with him. But they just had to fight back, call in daddy, get me in trouble,_ Lynn told herself. Of course, there was still the lingering unwanted thought stuck in her head. What would have happened if their father had not shown up? Lynn wasn't an idiot, she was a big ball of rage lately, but she was not an idiot. She knew she was wrong, for hurting Lily and nearly taking Lincoln's head off with her bat. Hell, she knew it was wrong while she was doing it. That led her mind down a very dark path of possibility, corrupted visions of what could have been if their father had not come home and stepped in. Lynn wanted to think that those little "what if's" could never happen, but the bruise on Lily's arm and the dent on Lincoln and Lily's door frame told a different story.

She could not help me think how much easier things had been better when they were younger, hell, just last year for that matter. The good old days, as Pop-Pop would like to call them. Back then if Lincoln did something wrong then they would just get an apology from him, he would do something to make it up, and all would be right with the world once again. Sure, there were fights, but they were just normal family squabbles, right? All families have their little ups and downs, siblings fighting, parents fighting. A brother getting kicked out of the house for being bad luck. Okay, so that one might be a little extreme, but the little buttmunch asked for it. If he would've just done what he was told to do, like he was supposed to, none of that would have happened.

If it weren't for those stupid comic books, video games, and all that other nerd bullshit, then none of this would have ever happened. Why couldn't he still be the little brother that wanted to play with her? He had been the only one in the family that liked playing sports with her, besides dad of course, but then Lincoln went and found new hobbies.

Lynn didn't understand how he could be so obsessed over stupid things like those dumb Japanese cartoons, little shit was even studying the language and saving money hoping to do an exchange program to Japan in the future. God, those Japanese games, cartoons, comics, and music were especially annoying. Not like watching a good fight, or a really good football game. Now that was what Lincoln should have been doing, watching sports, or playing sports, just getting out there and doing something.

He used to love to do that. He used to love to play sports with her. Of course, things were different back then, they were still roommates, and he still liked her. She wasn't just his big sister; she was his best friend. Then he had discovered Ace Savvy and met Clyde soon after, the two things that took him from her. That was the beginning of the end; she would see less of him as he wanted to spend all his time with Clyde, watching cartoons and reading comic books. He took to nerd culture the same way she had taken to sports. With each passing day, he drifted farther and farther from her, declining her attempts to get him to play with her. When she finally confronted him about it, he'd lost his temper and back talked her. He told her how it didn't seem fair that she could have her friends, hang out with them, but he wasn't allowed to have his own friends. She wanted to tell him that wasn't the case, that he could still be friends with Clyde, but she just wanted to hang out sometimes too. She still had her friends, but also wanted to play with him. Of course, none of that was ever said. Instead, her temper had gotten hold of her, and she threw a softball at him, chipping his tooth.

As she stepped into the shower, she thought back to the aftermath of that incident with the softball. Her parents had grounded her, which she was not all that shocked about. What did get her, however, was how Lincoln told her how he hated her for chipping his tooth. Those words stuck her like a knife, slowly working its way into her heart. She would later go to her parents and tell them that she thought it was time for Lincoln to have his own room. The subject had come up a few times, after having THE TALK with Lynn, their father suspected that Lincoln would need his own space eventually. Of course, Lynn wasn't doing it for that reason, she knew that Lincoln liked being close to his sisters, loved rooming with them, but if he was going to tell her that he hated her, then she thought it might be time for him to see how he liked to be alone. She thought of it as a punishment for what he said to her.

Lynn wondered if that was part of the problem now. Did her actions back then, set into motion whatever caused him to act the way he had been acting now? The isolation of being without his sisters, while also being treated like a second-class citizen among them. She knew that it bothered him that both Lori and herself would get on him about barging into their rooms, even if the door was open and others were in there while doing the same thing to him; even kicking or forcing the door open if it was locked. Hell, they'd kicked him out and took his room over more than once, the worst of both worlds. Sure, they had their "reasons," their little excuses as to why it was okay for them, but not for him. None of those excuses would hold up under scrutiny but seemed to work out decently, for the Loud girls anyway.

"Huh, maybe that's part of it..." Lynn said to herself, letting the hot water wash away the mud, shit, and bitter feeling that clung to her soul. All the double standards of that house, like unwritten rules, all designed to keep Lincoln in his place. But what for? Why did they do all of that? And more importantly, could they stop? She knew her issues well and wanted to try and resolved them, figure out a way to deal with her anger. At least that was what she always planned on doing. Still, nothing came from any of those plans. That made her wonder if any of the others would actually change as well.

"God I just want MY Lincoln back," Lynn whimpered into her hand. She hated to cry; it was a sign of weakness. Yet for being a sign of weakness, the emotion was pretty damn strong. Lynn wanted to fight it but found herself sitting in the shower as the hot water now washed away the tears of a little girl who missed her brother.

 ** _~ Skyla ~_**

It wasn't long before Lincoln had fallen asleep, Kat's fingers were magic dipped in a honey flavored sleeping potion. At least, that was how Skyla felt when her friend worked on her. There was a method to the half Asian girl's madness. She knew that Kat would be able to lull Lincoln to the land of slumber, giving her ample time to prepare one of the guest houses they had on their property.

The guesthouses were common to each of the homes for the clergy, meant for visiting friends, family or priests in training. They weren't particularly large, just one central room that served as bedroom, living room and dining room against one wall was a kitchenette for preparing meals. Two doors on either side of the main entrance laid to a laundry room, a bathroom that housed just a tub and shower in Japanese fashion with the toilet being in a separate room and a small closet.

Skyla entered the farthest removed of the houses, the one that she often used when friends were over. She got to work on lighting some incense and spritzing a calming scented spray around the room. A little Reiki to help set the mood and help alter the stagnant energy of the room. Skyla had to make sure that the place had an almost instant calming effect on anyone who entered, her aim being on Lincoln. She needed him to trust her, to open himself up to her and let them help as best they could.

She set up a couple of Japanese futons, not like the hard ones that you find in most furniture stores or that DIY aisle at Wal-Mart. No, these were designed for comfort, having a special mattress under it for extra support, instead of a wooden or metal frame that would often find a way to pinch your ass through the thin mat they called a mattress.

Once she felt the room was ready, she returned to the house and her room to wait for Lily and Lincoln to wake up from their naps. As she entered she saw her older sister Akari sitting on the edge of the bed and applying an ointment to the still sleeping Lily's bruise. With the creak of the door, Akari quickly turned her head and gave a look of warning to her younger sister. Skyla knew she was in for a not so nice long talk. Skyla turned her attention to her friend, who just shrugged and gave an innocent "I didn't do it" look back.

Akari finished her work on Lily and carefully got up off the edge of the bed, then made her way out to the hall, leading her little sister with her. She turned back and motioned for Kat to keep an eye on Lincoln and Lily, which the young girl nodded in agreement to. She then slowly and carefully shut the door so that they could have a nice private chat in the hall.

"Skyla," the eldest daughter of the Miyamoto family started.

"I already think I know where this is going," Skyla said. "Did Kat rat me out?"

"No, you're not half as clever as you think you are Sky," Akari told her. "Why do you want to put your Little One under so soon? I thought I taught you that hypnosis, while it can be used recreationally, should be treated with more care? Did I not teach you to build trust with the person first and you haven't even gotten his permission yet or talked to him about it."

Skyla let out a sigh. She was not frustrated, nor was she upset that her sister was already jumping to conclusions, that was normal with Akari. She took her responsibilities very seriously, as she should. No, she was disappointed with herself, that she did not go to Akari earlier for help or talk. Who better to advise on a situation like this than the person who mentored her? Yet here she was trying to play hero all by herself.

"You should know me better than that Akari," Skyla said. "I'm only doing this because he needs help. And I'm sorry, I should have come to you with this sooner, I just thought that ... "

"That you could be the hero for once?" Akari asked, getting a slow nod from her little sister. She reached out and lightly touched under Skyla's chin, slowly raising the girls lowered head so that they were once again making eye contact. Akari looked into those pools of crystal-like blue, eyes that had a shimmering hint of violet when caught by the light. Akari smiled, making her sister instantly feel better. "Tell me about him." She said.

"He's keeping something bottled up," Skyla said. "It's almost ... almost like he is holding back because he doesn't want to complain. Like he has no right to complain."

Akari could sense the caring in her sister's voice. There was more to this than just helping a friend. She had her suspicions but chose to keep them to herself in case her intuition was leading her down a dead end.

"One of his older sisters, Lynn, took a swing at him with a bat," Skyla told her. "She was the one that hurt Lily."

"Hmmm, I would get more involved, but if I did I would have to tell Rurik, and then he'd most likely investigate.," Rurik Miyamoto was the eldest of the children and a detective with The Royal Woods Police Department's Minor's Affairs Division. Which could lead to Lincoln being taken away from his family." Akari looked at her sister, who looked away. "But you knew that which was another reason you kept it a secret?

"Kind of, yeah," Skyla said, keeping her gaze on the floor. She felt a little ashamed to hide that from her sister, jumping to conclusions of her own, thinking that her family could be responsible for breaking up his family, making him sleep in a foster home or something. God, Kat would never forgive her if that happened. Hell, she would find it hard to forgive herself.

"Then we won't do this as anything official, and we won't bring Rurik in ... for now," Akari said. "Still wish you would have consulted me earlier, if it turns out that things are that bad at home, you shouldn't be handling it on your own."

"I know, I'm sorry," Skyla said, an uncharacteristic look of sorrow and sadness fell upon her face. "I just wanted to help him, and I thought I could."

"You can help him, but sometimes that help requires bringing in other people," Akari told her as she stroked her cheek, "Never be afraid to ask for help, you should know that we are always here to help you."

Skyla hugged her sister, still a little ashamed of herself for not coming to her sooner, but mostly she just felt loved. That was what her family was loving; it was the word she felt best summed them up. Sure you could say that about a lot of families, most probably. The difference with the Miyamoto family was that along with love they added tradition, duty, loyalty, faith, and honor to the mix. Thus their love blossomed into a respect they all had for each other, a trust shared amongst each other, and willingness to overlook great faults and mistakes. Skyla would sometimes shake her head at all the arguments and fights other siblings had amongst themselves. When Skyla asked why her friends fought with their siblings, she'd be asked, "Do YOU have any siblings?" Skyla would respond "Yes, seven, but we just don't fight like that, ever." they instantly shut up and walked away. It was true the kinds of fights she often heard about ending in biting words or blows just didn't happen in her house it took the form of a heated argument, and that happened about once a month at most.

 _ **~ Kat ~**_

Kat couldn't hide the fact that she was worried about Lincoln, and not just about his home life like how Skyla was. No, she was also worried about what her friend was going to do. Sure she trusted Skyla and all, but she also knew that it was dangerous to mess with someone's head and Skyla was still sort of new to it all. She had only been practicing for a few years, whereas her sister had been doing it for a decade.

The only thing that helped her with it, besides the fact that she trusted her friend, was that Skyla had put her under a few times in the past. Though it was always just to help her relax when she was dealing with a mountain of stress. The first time was when she was worried about a test at school, she thought for sure she was going to tank it, but thankfully Skyla's skills had seen her through that right up to the A+ she got. Now Chandler, well that was a whole other story. Chandler had messed with her mind and heart pretty bad, putting a lot of doubt into her head about who she was and who she wanted to be. He ran her down, made her feel like she was worthless and that she was nothing without him. Thankfully Skyla was there to sweep up the pieces and start to glue her back together again. It was a terrible thing to feel shattered like that, to feel like she was not even a person. Without the love and care that she got from her friend, then she would not have known what would have become of her. They grew very close after that, and Kat often thought if things were different, if she was more comfortable with her romantic feelings about girls as well as boys, then maybe there could have been something. Maybe.

All of that aside, there was still a great difference between what Skyla was thinking of doing with Lincoln and what she did with her. This would not just be getting him to relax, or even build up his self-esteem and reassure him, or even put him back together like she did her. Skyla was going to reach in and cut his soul open, spilling his life and secrets out on the floor. Was that something they should really be doing on a first date. Wait. Did she just refer to this as a date? This wasn't a date; this was just a group of friends hanging out. Right? Three people did not make a date. At least she didn't think three people could do a date. Skyla thought differently of course.

She shook the thoughts from her mind, sending back out the way they came in. She had much more important things to deal with than wondering what Lincoln and she were. She knew what she wanted them to be, but that sometimes that was a long jump to make, and she was not sure either of them was strong enough to land that leap just yet.

Kat was pacing the room, trying to burn a hole in the floor as she walked back and forth. She was wondering what the hell was taking Skyla and Akari so long. She really did not want to be left alone with her thoughts at the moment. Her eyes drifted to her snowflake. Snowflake? That was an odd nickname, even for her, yet for some reason, it worked. He was precious, fragile, and certainly one of a kind, and of course, the white hair helped pull the whole thing together. Snowflake it was.

"My Snowflake," Kat said to herself, a smile creeping across her face as she walked over and kissed him.

Behind her, the door opened, and Skyla and Akari entered the room again.

"I think we're ready," Skyla said.

 _ **~ Liam, Lori, and Leni ~**_

Liam went to his room which was near the back of the house just past the bathroom. He could hear the water from the shower in the bathroom; he knew he still had time to find some clothes for Lynn. Lori and Leni followed, taking in the house, which was actually pretty nice. The carpet was light brown and looked soft, like the kind of carpet you would want to walk around barefoot on, feeling the soft fibers tickle the undersides of your feet and toes. The walls were wood paneling, varying in shades from room to room, the hallway is a light brown with just a hint of red. Family photos hang along the wall in the hallway, old black and whites, faded colored ones from the late seventies, and a few more recent ones. Lori took notice of one where Liam was dressed in a powder blue cowboy shirt with a light tan hat. He held up a golden trophy that shimmed in the mid sun, the smile on his face almost as bright as the shine coming off that trophy.

When they got to his bedroom, Lori noticed that it was a fusion of Fantasy fanboy and good old country boy. Near the corner by the bed was a guitar which was gently resting against the wall. The wall was decked out in posters, ranging from what Lori assumed, were his favorite country singers, and beautifully painted art of dragons and barbarians. The wall which had a window that looked out to the side yard, where a field stretched out like an endless sea of gold and green, also had an impressive looking sword hung on it. The sword looked like something out of Lord of the Rings or Conan, Lori could not really tell. Next to the sword, hanging by a hook, was a lasso and a blue ribbon. The sisters where more than a little unnerved by the shotgun and rifle that hung on gun racks over his bed and the ammunition boxes on a shelf under it near his shooting competition trophies.

Liam went to his closet and pulled out an overnight bag and began to dig through it. He pulled out an orange polo and a pair of blue jeans, clothes that looked suspiciously like things Lincoln would wear. He tossed them on the bed and shoved the bag back into the closet.

"Uh, Liam, why do you have a bag with Lincoln's clothing in it?" Lori asked, giving him a confused look.

Liam and the others had all agreed that if any of Lincoln's sisters ever asked about the emergency bags then they would tell them, they wouldn't hold anything back. Of course, they had not told Lincoln that they would do this, but then there was a lot that his friends did in his best interest that he did not either know about or may not approve of. The fact was, they looked after Lincoln because he simply did not see the need in looking after himself all the time, at least when it came to his sisters or someone who was close to him, someone who he could not see beyond their relationship.

Ronnie Anne was a perfect example. Lincoln and Ronnie were friends, some said a bit more than just that, yet their relationship was defined by the fact that the girl liked to pull pranks on him and often bullied him. She even used to hit him until he stood up to her for the one and only time, although it was obvious she still wanted to pop him more than once. It wasn't a healthy relationship to be in, whether they were smooching or not, it was just downright unhealthy, damn it. Liam was in the camp of people that was glad the day Ronnie Anne left their lives, he didn't see anything good about a girl who liked to smack around the guy she was supposed to be hung up on.

Lincoln would never actually stand up to Ronnie Anne after the first couple of times, both resulted in her crying to Bobby which led to Lori cracking down on him, so Liam was prepared to do it. If she had not moved away, he was planning to give her a real talking to, and tell her to either knock off how she was treating Lincoln or scoot her butt along and find another fella to give her heart to.

Now Liam was faced with standing up for his friend once again, this time it was to his own family.

Well," Liam started, trying to find the right words to tell them. "See, after you girls ran him out of the house over that dress thing, well he sort of set up some emergency overnight bags at his friend's houses."

"Isn't that a little over the top?" Lori asked, feeling like maybe Lincoln was overreacting a little. It was a known fact each member of the Loud House did have a knack for playing the role of Drama Queen on a number of occasions. Besides, that was his fault, well okay, he did nothing to warrant being driven from his home like that. "We literally only did that once."

"What about the bad luck thing?" Liam reminded them.

 _Well, shit,_ Lori thought to herself, _there was that. And dammit that was a pretty messed up thing to do to anyone, let alone our only brother._ She really hated thinking about that one, it was a pretty dark time for the whole family, and she was pretty sure everyone, but Lynn really felt like shit after it all happened. Though now that she thought about it, how bad did they really feel? It wasn't like they actually took the time to apologize to him. Of course, if he brought it up, she'd ask if she had to show him the receipt for the golf clubs she bought to replace the one he destroyed when all he contributed to replacing it was thirty dollars and a coupon for Gus' Games and Grub.

"And if you think this is overreacting, during that dress fight the poor guy ended up soiling himself halfway to Clyde's, all because he couldn't use the bathroom," Liam told them, "I won't get into how sick he got when the only thing you let him eat was a dirty bagel."

Damn. Lori looked at Leni who now had tears in her eyes, those two incidents really took a toll on her as well. She looked at Lincoln, all of her siblings really but especially the "youngest ones" that is Lincoln and younger, like they were the most special people to ever come into her life, and it killed her that she got caught up in all of that drama, that she didn't try and put a stop to any of it. What made it worse was that she knew if she had been smarter, she could have seen past all of that, and that was what made her feel stupid. She could walk into a wall all day long, and she wouldn't think twice about it, but get suckered into mistreating her youngest siblings, only because she couldn't see past the ruse, that made her dislike her lack of intelligence.

Of course, that didn't excuse Lincoln lying about being bad luck, it wasn't like he hadn't asked for some personal time. Okay, he had, more than once and got threatened with a bat for it the third time. Not like Lynn would have swung at him. Except for the fact that this morning, she'd done just that.

"Thanks, Liam," Lori smiled at the Texan boy.

"For what?" Liam responded.

"For looking after our brother." She told him. Lori turned to Leni, seeing the sorrowful expression on her sisters face. "We have to have a long talk with him." She told her sister, getting a slow sympathetic nod. They had talked with him of course, but looking back it felt more like they just ganged up on him till he backed down. Of course he'd mentioned the threat with the bat but every time he was just told "we talked to her and she's sorry" like that someone removed the fact that Lynn had literally threatened him with a weapon and meant he could no longer use it as an excuse, no not an excuse, as an explanation for his actions. Now Lynn had not only threatened him but swung at him which was making Lori see her brothers actions in a whole new light.

The eldest Loud sister couldn't help but wonder what her brother was keeping from them. What feelings was he keeping bottled up within? And how much of it was their fault? Why didn't he come to her or hell any of the older sisters? Had they not made it clear he could if he really needed to. She also couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had left for college. She would have never known any of this was going on, and she would have dumped it all in the laps of Luna and Luan. She was the oldest; it wasn't their job to take care of everyone, it was hers. She had a duty to each one of them, to look out for them and to make sure they were taken care of. Dammit, she was failing. She really was the worst sister in the world; Lincoln had it right all along when he'd said those words so long ago.

 _ **~ Lincoln ~**_

Lincoln awoke rested but struggled to remember any of what he dreamt. He was sure it was nothing good, whatever it was, but at least it had not affected his sleep. Brief visions flashed across his mind of a strange woman in a dark cloak looked down at him with a smile that could make a vampire's blood run cold. She whispered soothing words that had a bitter undertone like she was sweet talking him and calling him an asshole in the same breath. Whatever the dream was, he knew it should have sat on his mind like a double bean burrito would sit on his stomach, yet he felt like he had the best sleep he'd ever had. He chalked that up to Skyla's scents she had sprayed around, and Kat's magic fingers. The duo did a number on his nerves, making him feel more relaxed than he had been in a long time.

Lincoln looked over to see that Lily was not where he remembered, not on the bed and snoring to the rhythm of Lord Vader's Imperial March. Most of the time he thought stuff like that just as a joke to amuse himself. This, however, was not a joke. For some odd reason, Lily could get a song stuck in her head, mostly something Luna was playing, and end up snoring that very same beat in her sleep. It just so happened that they had watched Empire Strikes back the night before, so now he went to bed as his sister snored to the beat of the Imperial March.

As he stood up to stretch and was considering a quick search for his baby sister and two lovely hostesses, the door creaked up, and a woman that Lincoln had never seen in his life, but suddenly wanted to see more of, walked into the room. She was about Leni's height and her hair flowed like silk curtains in a summer breeze. She had an hourglass figure and a nice, big pair of... EYES! Yes, eyes! Her eyes actually were something else they sparkled like stars caught in the night sky as she smiled at him. This woman was the picture of beauty, yet still, in the back of his mind, he could not get Kat out of his thoughts and increasingly Skyla.

"Hello there," Akari spoke, her words like velvet. "I'm Skyla's older sister, Akari, she sent me to check on you."

"Where is everyone? Didn't think I was out that long." Lincoln said, his eyes darting from the vision of beauty before him to any and every other object in the room.

"They all went out to the guest house," Akari told him. "Lily had woken up just a short while ago, and since we are all moving out there, they decided to take her and let you get some more sleep they felt you needed it."

Lincoln shrugged as that was all fine with him. Wasn't the first time he woke up alone and not knowing what was going on, and it probably wouldn't be the last. With a prankster like Luan living with them, it was not uncommon to wake up in strange places. At least here someone was prompt on checking up on him.

"Now that you're awake let's go see everyone." She motioned for Lincoln to follow her with her finger.

Lincoln did as he was asked, finding it hard to say no to such a beautiful woman. A thought crossed his mind to maybe set Luna up with her if things ever went south with Sam, or maybe Luan, but then he realized that he should probably find out if Akari or even Luan were into girls first. He also made a note never to tell the sisters he had even considered that. The implication Saluna as the Sisters called the pair might break up could and had resulted in him getting yelled at or hit. The one and only time the rockers had a fight Lincoln had feared the worse and asked about it getting slapped from Lola (who of course was never punished for it) and yelled at by Lori. In the end, he figured it was too much work and too many "what if's" so he decided to flush the idea. As the thought circled the drain, he wondered what his sisters were up to.

They walked through the house and past the kitchen to a sliding glass door that led out into a backyard the likes of which Lincoln had never seen before. The backyard was a cozy size but what made it stand out was the fact that the place was enclosed by a thick wall and lined with some of the gorgeous trees he had ever seen, real-life sakuras, actual Japanese cherry trees and another kind he couldn't identify. A small pound was in the middle with a bridge crossing it, and two one side was a pool near the guesthouses. The leaves of the other trees, the ones he couldn't identify, when caught by the right light, had a purple tint that almost seemed to glow like something right out of a Studio Ghibli film. The grass itself was an emerald green that smelled like it had just been cut, that wonderful smell of fresh cut grass filled Lincoln's nostrils and made him think of a past that he only ever heard about from his father, and stories of the family going to a farm that his other grandfather had lived on in Texas. His dad would always mention the smell of the lawn when it was freshly cut, and how it just made him want to stretch out in the midday sun with a glass of lemonade and watch the clouds roll by. God how Lincoln wanted that, maybe he could bring his father here sometime, he'd love to see this place.

A stone pathway led him across the bridge to some humble looking buildings, on the outside at least, but Lincoln was starting to realize that when it came to this family, looks were often deceiving.

They walked into the building farthest from the house it was tucked into a corner with its own stone fence. As they entered Lincoln saw Lily playing with Kat on a fold out black mat that he assumed was supposed to be a mattress of some kind. Shit, that thing looked uncomfortable. Again he shrugged, thinking his mattress was not always the best either, it had developed a number of lumps and droops over the years, and he really needed to talk to someone about getting a new one. He had the money but getting it to the house would be another thing entirely.

"Well, look who finally woke up," Skyla smiled walking over to the boy.

"Sleep well dearest brother?" Lily looked up from where she was sitting on Kat's lap.

"Not bad. Had a sort of nightmare, but for some reason, it didn't stick with me like it normally does." Lincoln said.

"Do you have a lot of nightmares?" Skyla asked.

"Eh, about as many as most people I would assume." He shrugged.

"And how many do you think most people have?" Akari took out a pen and paper and made notes.

"A couple a week." He guessed, he was really not sure.

"Do you always remember them?" Skyla asked.

Lincoln began to wonder if he had walked into a game of twenty questions. Why the sudden interest in his dreams?

Skyla could see that he was feeling put off by the questions, and she knew that she could not hide what she was planning any longer. If she was going to help this boy, she had to get it out there and tell him what she was thinking of doing, and maybe convince him to follow through with her plan. She was not sure how either Lily or Lincoln would take to the idea. Hypnotizing someone seemed like a creepy thing to do, or at least that was what the kids at school had all said once they learned that she did it. She was hoping that Lincoln would not be one of those kids and would be open to trying it at least.

"Little One, I want to ask a favor of you," Skyla said, gaining Lincoln's full attention. "There is something I would like to do, something that I feel may help you ... with your nightmares." She lied, getting a look from Kat and her sister.

"Just his nightmares?" Kat asked, trying to push Skyla to explain more to Lincoln. She did not like the idea of hypnotizing him in the first place, she was damn sure not on board with doing it under false pretenses.

"It may also help with other issues I think you might have," Skyla admitted.

"Uh huh ... and just what is it you plan to do?" Lincoln asked.

Skyla gave her best reassuring smile, "I wanna do my hypnosis thing. With you."

"Why?" Lincoln asked.

"So we can get to the bottom of what is making you come off like you are two steps from a ledge to the end of the world." Kat bluntly tossed out there.

"I don't ..." He started to say, getting a look from Lily that told him whatever he was going to say next was a flat-out lie. "Okay, maybe I have been a little down in the dumps but I wouldn't ..."

"Please dearest brother, do not make me bring up examples," Lily said. "Besides it'll just be you and dearest Skyla and dearest Kat. Dear Akari is taking me to meet the youngest sister, she's my age and apparently at my level of development."

Lincoln smiled at Lily's words "Kat, Skyla, Akari when she says dear and dearest that basically makes you family in her eyes if not then at least super close friends." It would be good for Lily to get a friend her own age and Lincoln now hoped the day ended with his baby sister making her first best friend.

As for Kat and Skyla Lincoln had a feeling that these girls would do whatever it took to get their way, and after living with ten sisters who often did just that, he had learned it was a hell of a lot easier to just roll over and take it.

He let out a deep sigh. "Alright." He said. "Tell me what I have to do."


	5. Going Under

~Lynn~

Lynn Loud was not one who liked to be naked in strange places, and a farm with a giant rooster that tried to peck her face off was as strange a place as she could think of. Yet, here she stood, naked as the day she came into this world, standing in a bathroom and looking down at the neatly folded clothing that Lori had given her. She would much rather wear the red tracksuit she'd worn coming over, but that was covered in pig shit, and no one wanted her covered in that again.

The orange polo was Lincoln's, hell it was all Lincoln's clothing. After Lori dropped the stack of clothing on the closed toilet seat, she told her about Lincoln and his emergency stash. In her mind, she felt the weight of her guilt, of her concern, growing like water being poured into a bucket. Each new thing that came up was another drop that filled the bucket, weighed her down, and made her feel that much more like a worse version of Hitler. A little extreme, but then she did just watch a documentary on the History channel a few nights ago, so the image was fresh in her mind.

Despite the sadness growing in her heart, there was still a lot of pain and bitterness deep in her soul. She may have mentally thought that she felt bad for what happened to Lincoln, and her hand in it. Verbally, she called him a pussy and rushed Lori out of the bathroom, so she could put on the pussy's clothes and get the hell away from this damn farm. For a brief moment she wondered why she was acting the way she was, but deep down she knew what it was. At least, one of the reasons. She and Lincoln were so close when they roomed together when they were younger and much, much happier. Then it all fell apart and she was left with one thing and one thing only. The Spotlight. She was the sports star of the family and, hell all of Royal Woods basically. She loved the attention she got because it made her feel important, made her feel loved, and made up for the fact that she was nothing to look at. All the other girls had looks and personality. All she had was being good at handling balls, and not in the way that the boys really liked. She was a tomboy, and for some reason, she was led to believe that was a dirty word. The only boy that ever gave a damn about her, ever made her feel important or special, was her brother. Now he was off doing his own thing and had started to steal the spotlight from her. That would leave her as just the ugly sister who had nothing. That made her hate Lincoln. A hate that clashed with the love and concern that she was also carrying for him. In the end, it all boiled down to her being an emotional train wreck. What the hell was she going to do?

~Lori~

It was decided, without Lynn's input of course, that the next stop on the Lincoln Loud tour of sadness, would take them to the McBride's house. Clyde McBride was, perhaps, Lincoln Loud's best friend. The two bonded over comics and video games and even found a shared love of scary TV shows that nearly made them wet their pants. With Clyde's dads being the type of people who would overreact at every little detail of Clyde's life, they had sent the boy to many hours of therapy. Years with Dr. Lopez had made Clyde learn a few tricks about therapy. He had probably already gotten to the root of this problem Lincoln was having.

There was of course one tiny little problem. Clyde had an emotional hard-on for Lori. Probably a literal one as well, she had never bothered to look as that seemed beyond creepy. Point was, he was useless while she was around. She also knew that Lynn was shedding her rational mind like a like a rattlesnake would shed its skin. She could not take the chance of having her lose it and attack Clyde like she tried to do Liam.

It was finally decided that they would drive over to the McBride's and Luan, along with Lucy, would talk to Clyde. They seemed to be the best at handling him, while the rest would babysit Lynn like the rabid mutt that she was quickly becoming.

Lori knew that something would have to be done about her attitude, which could mean going to their father and discussing a possible punishment maybe being removed from the upcoming Martial Arts tournament if she did anything that came off as remotely wrong. Lori had been considering his course of action for a while now anyway, as Lynn was getting worse every year after getting beaten by that Scottish kid. What was his name? Mac something? Hell, if she knew. All she really knew was that losing to him and lately karate school every year seemed to take a toll on Lynn. She wondered if something was going on at the school at first she seemed to be mellowing then she took a change for the worse, maybe she could swing by and speak to Master San.

After the young athlete was done changing, they bid Liam a thankful goodbye and went back to Vanzilla. The rain had begun to pick up again as they drove back towards downtown Royal Woods. Lori would wonder if this was an ominous sign of what was to eventually work its way into their lives.

~Luan~

Luan sat next to Luna in the van, a sharp pin was poking from the cushion and trying to pull a Cosby, forcing itself into her pants. For a brief second, she was proud of that joke, then suddenly felt sad as she liked his stand up for the longest time. Now she could never listen to him again without thinking of the terrible things he had done. Life was sort of fucked up like that. One day you look up to someone, the next day you realized what a piece of shit they are. She wondered how Lincoln saw her? How did her family see her? She had done a lot of terrible things to them all and tried to laugh it all off, thinking it was just in good fun but now, now she was faced with the fact that it could have all been stockpiling. Building and growing like a savings account of terrible shit that would one day find itself popping a squat right over her head.

After Lori told them about the bad luck thing and the Sister fight protocol, she was left to wonder what hand she played in Lincoln being sad, if that was indeed what this whole mess was. Did her prank with Ronnie Anne help send him down this road? She was not known for her tack, just for the twisted sense of humor that could almost be considered criminal.

"I can't believe I have to wear Lincoln's dumb clothes," Lynn muttered under her breath.

Lana tilted her head ever so slightly. "I find that hard to believe as you are always taking his pants without asking." She said.

"Yeah, he's your brother! Why are you always trying to get into his pants anyhow?" Luan asked in a joking manner.

Luna laughed, as did Leni but Luan knew that was only because she wanted to feel a part of the group. The joke was a little mature for her, and Leni didn't get sex jokes. Hell, Luan wondered if Leni really understood the whole concept behind sex. She knew that Lisa had made an offer to help Leni with her intelligence but was not sure how all of that was going. She sure didn't seem to be acting any different.

Lori had muttered something about taking away a little friend, which Luan had instantly understood. She took a sideways glance at Luna, with a nervous grin plastered on her face. Luna cocked an eyebrow and looked back at Luan. Somewhere between that look came an understanding as what Lori's words had meant. Luna frowned, Luan shrugged, and Lori kept her eyes on the road, so they didn't get caught in a river and swept out to sea.

The younger girls all exchanged puzzled glances, not following the joke, or the follow up that seemed to shut Luan up faster than a staple gun to the mouth. They were lost, but soon would be found as Lisa sent a text to them, one by one.

' _I'll explain tonight'_

~Lincoln~

Lincoln lay on a soft pink beanbag Skyla had pulled from the house, it was easily big enough for him and both his new ... girlfriends. Girlfriends? Okay, where had that come from? He wasn't dating either one of them. And only Skyla was into that sorta thing, certainly not him, no sir. He was a one-woman kind of a guy. He had never thought of sharing his love with more than one girl. Well, there was that one time, but that was a totally isolated incident. He had just learned from Rusty what a threesome was. Anyways, his sisters would kill him if he got involved in something like that. He wasn't even the least bit curious about it, nope, nope, NOPE.

Lily and Akari had stayed behind with Kat to keep him company until Lily's playdate arrived. They sat around him in a circle watching him. Something about three girls sitting around and watching him was just a little creepy. Oddly enough, he also found the idea somewhat erotic, though that idea died within moments of remembering that one of the girls was a toddler and his sister. Lincoln didn't roll like that, no matter what the assholes at school said.

Kat reached out and took his hand, the first time she had made physical contact with him since arriving at the guest house. He looked into her eyes and saw the concerned look behind those beautiful blue orbs. His heartbeat quickened, and he let out a half smile to thank her for being there. She must have read his mind as she smiled back as if to say, "you're welcome".

The door to the guest house opened and Skyla had returned, a small velvet bag in her hand. She walked over and sat near Lincoln, taking a few items out of the bag, two sticks, one red, one blue and to his surprise a real-life magic wand. "It's a lighter," Skyla explained. Made sense the girl would have a lighter designed to look like a wand from Harry Potter. She set the sticks into two silver holders on either side of him and lit them.

Akari's phone vibrated. "Ah and here is your play date Lily, come along sweetie. We'll be just outside if anyone needs us."

Akari started to lead Lily out of the guest, but the little girl stopped. She turned around and quickly ran back to her brother, kissing him on the cheek "I love you Dearest Brother, good luck."

"Love you too Lilybug." Lincoln returned the kiss and hugged her. "Now go make a new friend." He smiled at her.

Lily beamed at the thought of making a friend. A friend! She had spent so much time with Lincoln and her sisters that she often forgot about making friends. Of course, it was hard for a girl like her. Not many kids her age wanted to play with a girl who acted like a cast member of Downton Abby. She followed Akari, her curiosity peaked at the idea and mystery of who this new friend might just be.

"Sorry, this incense should work better." She told him.

"No problem." He said, taking a couple of sniffs of the new scents. "What kind is that?"

"Believe it or not the package calls it hypnosis," she told him. "New age stores like to name things like that instead of just calling the product by the scents used."

Lincoln had not spent much time in any new age store, occasionally to look at the cool swords and knives, or dragon statues if they had any of those. A lot of the ones he had seen in outlet malls or the little strip mall downtown, all had the same sorts of things, what he liked to call hippie soaps and beads. Though he enjoyed talking to the staff and the patrons closer to his age, he still remembered bumping into Jordan Taber aka Girl Joran at Mystic Winds, a store at the local mall, there he learned she was a born and raised Wiccan, it was kinda cool learning more about his friend.

There had been this other guy there, one of the shop keepers, looked like a time traveler from the late sixties to early seventies. Had long brown shaggy hair, full on beard, and wore lots of tye dye. He was down to Earth and extremely friendly, the kind of person Lincoln loved talking to. Still, he avoided the store anyway because his sisters teasing would get over the top when he went near anything remotely spiritual. He could handle his sisters teasing rather well, prided himself how it came off him like water off a duck's back, or at least it use to, but this would get bad even by Loud standards. Except for Lisa and Lucy, his gothic sister would try to pull him towards the darker aspects of the occult and Lisa would launch into a long-winded lecture on the foolishness of it all, demanding that he either prove the legitimacy of it or avoid it all together. Never mind Lincoln never once said he believed in it, but then Lisa was fanatical about such things for some reason.

"Now then." Skyla removed a necklace from the bag, the stones that comprised it where a large purple one, amethyst she told him, and three medium-size ones that were spaced out evenly around it they had pattern of blue and gold, lapis lazuli, the majority was made up of blue stones with brown and white-ish markings that made them look like a small globe, sodalite stones he was told. She fixed the stones around his hands in such a way that it felt like she was tying his hands together.

"Trying to keep me from running away?" He joked getting a little nervous.

Skyla leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Why would you want to?" She sat up and let out a small seductive smile, then nodded to Kat. "Besides the amethyst, lapis lazuli, and soalite are just to help you relax, heal you and help you fall into a trance easier."

The girls would so be mocking him for this, hell Lincoln half expected this to be some elaborate prank, but no, only Luan could do something this extreme and she'd never use love to lure him into a prank. No, that wasn't right, she had used love as a lure once before, and she could very well do it again. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Kat gently scooching up behind him and gently pushing him to lean up. She guided him down so he was now resting in her arms as she wrapped her legs around his and her arms around his body.

"THAT is to keep you from running away," Kat smirked as she kissed his cheek. Oddly, in Kat's arms, Lincoln felt safe. He looked at Skyla and smiled at her. Skyla's eyes again shimmered with a hint of violet. He wondered how she did that, it did not seem to be natural, as he had never met anyone who didn't have the standard colored eyes. It seemed like most people were either a variation of blue, green or brown. Occasionally you meet someone who had a shade of gray or black, then there were his own amber colored eyes that perplexed the family, it even had Lisa scratching her head. But never once had he seen eyes that looked violet. He could easily find himself getting hypnotized just by looking into her them. God that sounded like a cheese pick line he would hear on a bad TV show or something.

Skyla sat on him and leaned forward so her nose touched his. He could smell the sweet scent of her breath and a feeling started to burrow into him that he quickly tried to shake. He was a one-woman guy, he was a one-woman guy.

"Are you comfortable?" Skyla asked, smirking at the blush that crept along his cheeks.

"You are evil," He told her.

"So, I've been told," still smirking she gave him a fast kiss on the nose then leaned back up.

Kat shook her head. She should have known that under it all there would be more than one reason for getting Lincoln over here. Sure, she wanted to help him, but Kat began to see that she wanted to help herself as well. To a nice big piece of Lincoln pie. They would have to have a little talk later about all of that. She would also have to take a second to try and figure out why she was not more upset, and why she was a little flustered by what she had witnessed. Right now, she really just wanted to get this over with, she wanted to know what it was that Lincoln was holding in. She hadn't thought much about it, at least not as much as Skyla had, not until her friend started to talk more and more about it. Then Kat noticed that there was something just under the surface of the boy she was crushing on. Something that had a dark and sinister undertone to it. Something that made her worry about her snowflake.

"Any questions before we get started Little One? Also, YES this is necessary and yes, it is too late to weasel out." She winked.

"Um one why is this necessary?" Lincoln asked her.

"Simple, whatever is bothering you is probably right under the surface, we scratch a little bit and it should come right up, chances are something in there is blocking you, and we have a professional right outside the door if things go wrong," Skyla gave a reassuring smile. What Lincoln didn't know was the window by the door was cracked just enough for Akari to eavesdrop on the whole thing.

"Now at the risk of sounding corny just look into my eyes okay? I want you to begin to focus on your breathing," She told him in a very soothing and soft voice. "Take a deep breath in for a count of four, hold it till a count four, let it out for another count of four, hold for a count of four and repeat it. Nice, and slow." She and Kat both breathed with him, trying to mirror him exactly.

Lincoln took a deep breath, his lungs filling with air and the sweet scent of the incense. He held it as he counted to four, then slowly let the air back out. He repeated the process just as Skyla told him to, keeping time with the rhythm of the girls' breathing. His eyes never leaving Skyla's, they seemed to almost glow violet now, each deep breath releasing the stress that had a vice-like grip on the young boy. He could feel his muscles relaxing. He'd noticed at some point Kat's arms, that were wrapped around him, had now moved ever so slightly and gently up, her hands began to gently massage his shoulders.

"Now, I want you to count down from twenty in your mind," Skyla told him. "Countdown slowly, and in the rhythm of your deep breaths. Breath in, breath out, count. Just like that. Imagine yourself adrift on a river. Let your body just relax and let the current take you out to an ocean of calm."

Lincoln again did as he was told. He took in a deep breath, held it for a second, let it out, and counted. Twenty. He repeated the process again, counting in his head nineteen more times. Each time his body felt lighter and lighter, his vision began to blur around the edges, it was hard to keep his eyes open, it reminded him of back when Lynn had tossed that softball at him, hurting him and chipping his tooth. One was chipped and another one was damaged to the point that it had to be removed. His mother had rushed him to Dr. Feinstien, it was just about the only time he could remember getting laughing gas. This reminded him a lot of what that felt like. Finally, his eyes closed as he heard Skyla give one final instruction.

"Sleep my Little One, just let go and let us take care of everything," Skyla spoke as Kat kissed the top of his head.

"Is that what I look like when I'm under?" Kat asked.

"Eh, you look a little cuter." Skyla sort of joked, "But then again your not as stressed out or troubled. Now then let's get to the heart of the problem." Skyla said.

~Luan~

They pulled up to the curb in front of the McBride's house. There appeared to be no sign of them being home, even the car wasn't in the driveway. Lori told the girls, Luan and Lucy, to go up and check to make sure.

Luan opened the door, stuck her hand out to feel the water splashing on her hand. A joke entered her mind that she wanted to say out loud but knew that Lori would kill her if she said it. Sometimes older siblings were no fun, no fun at all. She grabbed Lucy by the arm and looked her in the eyes, or given how Lucy's eyes where always hidden by her hair, the spot the comedienne expected her sister's eyes to be.

"On the count of three, we make a run for it." She turned to Lori. "If we don't make it back I just want you to know when shoes squeak they don't smell like a rotten ass afterward. Please stop lying and except the fact that you have a farting problem."

With that, the rest of van burst out in laughter as Luan and Lucy made a run for the door.

"You suck Luan!" Lori yelled out the window. Though she had to admit, that one even made her crack a smile.

The rain poured down as Luan and Lucy cut across the grass and up to the porch, which thankfully gave a little cover from the wet weather that was soaking them from head to toe. Luan rang the doorbell, fighting the urge to try and play a little tune with it, or do the old knock and ring combo. Sometimes she could not help herself, as the need to annoy others was just ingrained in her. But she fought the feeling like a clown fighting a mime. Yeah, that was how her brain worked, clowns would sometime fight mimes in there, duking it out over a slice of coconut cream pie and a chilled glass of seltzer water. She was nuts, she knew it. Though through the chaotic storm of insanity that was her mind, there would sometimes come a calm moment, like the eye of a tornado, and that less often seen serious side would wiggle out of a clown car and take over. That was happening a lot more recently, she assumed due to the growing concern for her brother.

After waiting for the minutes, which felt like hours, she concluded that they weren't home.

"Looks like the McBridal chamber is empty ... Get it?" Luan smiled, then sighed at the terrible pun. "Okay, I'll admit that one was kind of a stretch."

"Wasn't that bad ... Sigh .." Lucy responded in her normal monotone voice.

"Ready to run back?" Luan asked.

"I suppose."

"That's that Lucy Loud enthusiasm I was looking for." Luan gave a wide grin.

They ran back across the grass and jumped back into Vanzilla. Once inside the door was slammed shut and Luna handed them both towels that they found in the back of the van from their last trip to the beach. Luan and Lucy dried off as Lori looked on with a mix of anticipation and annoyance.

"Well?" Lori asked.

"Oh, yeah they aren't home," Luan said.

"Maybe we can call Clyde?" Leni suggested.

"What's the use, that little shit Liam probably tipped him off before pigging out on the food Dad made him as a reward for covering for Lincoln.' Lynn growled.

"Dammit Lynn, if you are just going to bitch then will you shut the hell up and keep it in your fucking head," Lori yelled, getting looks from all the girls.

Luan looked at her older sister. Lori liked to yell, that was obvious, she raised her voice more than Flip raised his prices. It wasn't the yelling that concerned her, it was the tone of voice and what she said. Even Lynn was taken aback by what she said, not used to Lori putting her in her place like that.

"It's okay Lori, we'll figure out what's wrong with Linky," Leni said, patting her sister's hand.

Lori looked over and smiled at Leni.

"What did you mean by what you said Lynn?" Lola asked. "Liam was covering for Lincoln and Dad rewarded him?"

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you guys didn't already know," Lynn said.

"Well duh Lynn," Lana rolled her eyes, "that wasn't exactly hard to deduce you know? It's logic. Liam is a known foodie, he wouldn't bend over for Lori like Clyde would and as a rodeo champion with a small flock of Cluckasaurus Rexes… Or is it Rexi Lisa?" Lana turned to her brainy sister.

Lisa, like the rest of the sisters, was stunned by Lana's intelligent rant. She was almost too stunned to answer but then shook herself back to her senses before finally answering, "Rexes seventh eldest sibling. You could also use Cluckasauruses and if you… if you want to stick close to the Latin Cluckasaurus Reges…" She was still too stunned to comment on the term Cluckasaurus.

"Thanks, Lisa!" Lana smiled, "anyway with a small flock of Cluckasaurus Reges, Liam would be more than a match for Lynn or any of us really while he goes off and sees his new girlfriends…"

The other girls all looked to Lana as if she had just spoken a magic word that sent a bolt lighting crashing from the heavens into their brains. The sisters felt that light bulbs should have appeared over their heads as they made the connections.

"What?" Lana asked. "I checked and found nothing comic related going on this weekend, and with him not being at his friends' houses ... "

"Wait, what about Zach and Rusty?" Luna brought up.

"First off, no one goes to Zach's house, his mother creeps everyone out," Lana said. "And second, I remember Lincoln saying that Rusty was out of town for a while, by the way Lori, big chance he could be moving away you might wanna be ready to provide a shoulder for him anyway, this leaves only a limited number of options. And since he would not go to all this trouble for the arcade or the movies, especially as he'd be right where we could find him, that simply leaves these new girls."

Luan looked at Lana like she was one of those aliens that took over people's bodies. The switch was easy enough to happen, not like they all paid much attention to Lana, the poor kid. Seemed she was always stuck in Lola's shadow. But now, hell now it looked like Lola was going to be looking for a way to escape Lana's shadow as the girl was acting more like Sherlock Holmes than Lana Loud grease monkey.

"Oh, and Lola," the princess looked over at her twin, "don't feel bad for not putting the pieces together sooner, you are obviously to worried about Lincoln to be thinking clearly as are most of u," she smile at her twin. "Now then, how about we try to call Lincoln and trace is cellphones location?" Lana suggested.

Before Lori could either agree with the idea or disagree with it, her own cell buzzed. She looked at the text. It was from their Dad.

"Good idea Lana, but either Liam called Dad, or he realized we'd been gone too long. He wants us home for a chat." Lori said.

"Aaand were boned," Luan said.

As Vanzilla headed home Lana got a text from Lisa asking her to please meet her in private for a chat.

~Kat~

Kat had watched her best friend put her snowflake into a trance. Exactly as Skyla had done to her on a number of occasions. It was odd being on the other side for once. She had also watched her best friend sneak a kiss from the guy she was crushing on. This was, to say the least, a confusing day for her.

Lincoln lay in her arms as if he were sleeping. His eyes were closed, his breath was shallow, she only knew he was breathing from the motion she felt in her arms. God, she loved the feel of him in her arms. She had only just met him, but she was already dreaming of a day where she could wake up like this.

"Lincoln, can you hear me?" Skyla asked.

"Yea," Lincoln said in a voice that sounded distant and drained of emotion, like in those cartoons when a character was ... well hypnotized.

"Lincoln I would like you to tell us how you are feeling," Skyla said.

"Tired," Lincoln responded.

That was not what Skyla was looking for. She began to wonder if he was really under or not. She knew she had done everything right, the special stones, the calming scents, the soft-spoken voice. Everything she had done was what her sister had taught her to do. So why was it not...

Skyla's train of thought was cut short as Lincoln continued.

"Tired of it all," Lincoln told them, again his voice was void of emotion, which made his words seem that much sadder and a touch creepy. "Tired of being the only boy, the middle child, the mistake."

"Mistake?" Kat asked more to herself than anyone else but he heard it all the same.

"I overheard mom and dad talking one day. They said I was not planned, that I was an accident." He said. "That means I was a mistake."

"That could explain the sadness you saw in him," Kat told Skyla, who remained silent and let him keep talking.

"Sometimes I think that my sisters hate me and that's why. They knew I was never supposed to happen, so they take everything out on me." He continued. "That was why they didn't care when they kicked me out of the house."

"They kicked you out? For what?" Skyla asked.

Kat already knew this story, Lily had told her just as Lori had told Lily. Lily admitted she was upset with them at first, though that feeling had begun to fade as the little girl saw how it all affected Leni and Lori. Leni took it the hardest, the littlest Loud felt, finding it hard to even make eye contact with Lincoln after that. While Lori was apparently caught between feeling bad and trying to justify it to herself. The toddler said she'd heard Lori mention that Lincoln should repay her for the golf clubs that he ruined. Apparently, it was only a sand wedge, but Lori had bought a whole new set and complained the thirty dollars and a coupon to Gus' Games and Grub wasn't enough. Bullshit that was more than enough to cover a sand wedge. Kat wondered if Lori believed it.

"I pretended to be bad luck and my family made me sleep in the yard for a few days," Lincoln told them. "They were right to do it, I'm always causing trouble. Lisa even said once by leaving I make everything better."

"When did that happen?" Skyla asked.

"When they had their sister fight protocol," Lincoln told them.

"And what is that?" Skyla was almost too afraid to ask, wondering, not just what it was, but what it had caused.

"They have a protocol in place to keep two or more sisters from interacting with each other if there is a fight." He told them. "Lori and Leni fought over a dress and by the end of it all, I was not only not allowed to use our own bathroom, eat in our own kitchen or even be in my own room. There was nowhere in the house for me to go so I ended up walking to Clyde's, but I pissed and shit myself halfway there, fifteen minutes I walked like that…"

"Dear God," Kat said, covering her mouth.

"After that, I started to keep emergency clothes at all of my friend's houses." He said. "I sometimes wonder if they would be ... better off without me."

The way that Lincoln said that made Skyla wonder what he meant by it. There were a lot of ways to take that, and the lack of emotion in his voice made it sound much more ominous. Still, something about the way he paused, there was certainly a dark undertone to those words.

"Lisa did say that to me once, and she's the smartest person I know." Lincoln continued.

Skyla's cellphone vibrated, and she looked at the window to see Akari, who had stood up to stretch, which the signal that it was best to take him out of the trance. There was more to learn of course, but for now, Akari obviously felt that it would be best for them to bring him out of it and talk. Skyla paused for a second. She knew that she could make him forget what he had told them, take things back to how they were before she put him under. She knew better, of course, they needed to help him, she couldn't believe she was getting cold feet now.

"Lincoln. Listen carefully. I cannot judge your sister's, but I can tell you, here you are safe. Here you are loved. Here you will not, you CANNOT hold it in. Now then I think you've earned a reward." Skyla gave a concerned looking Kat a smirk, "When Kat kisses you you'll come back to us fully awake. Kat."

Kat kissed his forehead making Skyla roll her eyes.

Lincoln woke up from a nightmare that had sunken its claws into his very soul. He looked at the girls in the room, both Skyla and Kat shared concerned looks as they watched, wondering what Lincoln was going to do next.

Lincoln could feel the tears well up in his eyes, but he tried to blink them back. The pain was still fresh, the wounds still open. Yet he wanted to take care of the problem at hand before he let himself break down and cry.

"They're not all bad," Lincoln told them. "A lot of the stuff I bring on myself…"

"KNOCK THAT OFF!" Kat yelled. "You will not keep blaming yourself!"

Lincoln stiffened and looked at Kat, shocked that she was yelling at him.

"Kat's right," Skyla laid a gentle hand on his arm, "I only know part of the story and won't judge until I do, but blaming yourself solves nothing, and it certainly doesn't do Lily or your other sisters any good," Skyla told him firmly.

Kat's voice softened "Now Snowflake why don't you let it out, we are both here, we'll hold you while you cry and go on from there. Not like we are letting you go at any rate or like you'll be able to hold it in."

With that Lincoln finally broke down crying in their arms.

Outside Akari made a mental note to talk to Lincoln's parents about setting him up with a colleague of hers for therapy. She would have gladly taken in Lincoln as her patient, however, she was no fool. She knew Skyla had every intention of dating both Lincoln and Kat, so taking Lincoln on as her own patient would be a conflict of interest. The Miyamoto family may have been traditional in some respects, but that didn't mean they didn't also consider themselves open minded. So long as any member of the little harem Skyla was building herself was a willing participate and not too old or too young the family would support her.

That would come later for now she smiled as her sister comforted the boy and her youngest sister entered the yard and greeted Lily the smiles said this would be the start of a fruitful friendship.


	6. Meetings

**_~Lynn~_**

Lori had managed to pilot Vanzilla through the pouring rain with little incident. There was a moment when they hit something, only to come to find out it was just a piece of plywood that must have fallen off a truck. Though there were a few tense seconds where every soul within in that van waited with baited breath as Lori checked it out, each mindset that they hit a living creature. That was the luck they felt they were having, fate would surely send another mighty boot while they were down. Here Loud's, not only is your only brother dealing with his drama but here is a person or animal for you to run over and weigh on your conscience for the rest of your lives.

Lynn had crossed her fingers and prayed to whatever god would be listening, hoping that it was one of those damned roosters. It wasn't. And she wouldn't pray again until the sports gods demanded tribute from her for a victory.

Vanzilla pulled into the driveway at 1216 Franklin Avenue just after three. Of course, the sun was stuck behind a blanket of dark clouds that insisted on dropping rain on them, so it felt a lot later than it was. They had spent most of their day under a shower, searching for answers to the enigma that was their brother. So far, all they had to show was wet clothes and more questions.

To try and avoid further soaking, they decided to run to the porch, each one of the older girls carrying on of, the younger ones. Lori carried Lola, Luna took Lana, and Leni took Lisa. Lynn said she wouldn't carry anyone as a little rain never hurt anyone. Luan offered to help Lucy, who declined with a slight smile. A smile from Lucy, okay, that's odd, Laun thought to herself.

Once inside they were met by their parents who handed them, fresh from the dryer, towels to dry off. God how Lynn loved anything fresh from the dryer. The smell, the warm feeling. Heaven was a fresh pair of underwear from the dryer. The girls all went to their rooms and changed into dry clothes, Lynn was the first up the stairs, she couldn't wait to get out of Lincoln's shit.

In her room, she removed his clothes and tossed them into a corner. She stood in front of her dresser half naked and dug through the crumpled piles of wrinkled clothing, looking for something comfortable to wear. The door creaked open as Lucy entered, she caught sight of Lynn standing there topless.

"No bra?" Lucy asked, turning her head.

"Nah, figure what's the point, not like I will ever get a pair of tits anyways," Lynn said.

Before Lucy could even consider a follow-up question, Lynn was out the door and heading back downstairs. The last thing she wanted was to start talking about her crappy life to anyone in that family. Not that they would care, they were all about Lincoln; she was just a bully or something.

Downstairs she was met with the smell of cooking meat. Sniff sniff. Ham and bacon, oh how, bacon was another love of hers, most of Lynn Jr.'s loves were things she could eat, kick, hit, or wear. Lynn's mouth watered, and her stomach grumbled with a message of "put food in me already dammit!".

"Heh, your wish is my command master," Lynn said, patting her stomach.

She entered the kitchen to see her father cooking up some bacon, and on the counter were some sliced rolls, a plate of ham, some cheese, pickles, and tomatoes. Sandwiches. Now that was what she was talking about. Her Dad made great sandwiches, along with great everything else. Hell, he wasn't a cook for nothing.

"Junior." Her father greeted, catching his daughter from the corner of his eye. "I'm fixing some tomato soup to go with this; it'll be ready in a moment, go ahead and take a seat in the living room. Your mother and I would like to have a talk."

"Sure Dad," Lynn said. Of course, there was going to be a talk. And she would bet anything, well almost anything, that it was going to have something to do with Lincoln.

She went out to the living room and sat on the couch just as Lucy, Luna, and Luan were all coming down. She figured that Leni was probably fixing her hair and makeup and Lori was helping Lisa and twins change. No matter how smart or mature those little girls might act, it was still going to be a struggle to get out of wet clothes. Her mother was a grown woman, and she once got her wet shirt caught around her head while trying to take it off. Knocked her head into the wall and everything. Boy, they all had a good laugh that day.

Once the others had come down, Dad entered the living room with a tray filled with hot tomato soup in little white mugs. Their mother followed with a plate of grilled ham, bacon and cheese sandwiches with pickles and tomato.

Grumble grumble.

Hold your horse's stomach; the food is coming, Lynn thought to herself.

"Now," their father started as he set the food down, "first thing is first. We called you girls back because we had some questions." He looked to his wife, who looked far more annoyed with her daughters than their father was.

"Why haven't you girls been including Lincoln in your meetings?" Rita demanded.

Of course, Lynn thought, everything was always about Lincoln. Those were SISTER meetings, and the last time she checked, Lincoln was still a boy. Not a man, no, he'd probably never be a man, but a little boy. Those meetings were about girl issues, private discussions for the girls, and that was no place for the white-haired little runt. When Lincoln and Lily get home, I'll have to pull them aside and have a little face to fist with ... wait, what? Again, Lynn had to step back and wonder what the hell she was thinking. Did I really just think about beating up my babies!? She could see being hurt, mad, and maybe even jealous. But to the point where she was willing to feed them a knuckle sandwich? She needed to speak to someone about this before it got worse, especially after what happened this morning.

"But we only talk about girls only stuff .." Lola voiced what Lynn had been thinking.

'Oh?" Her mother said, placing her arms on her hips in a tone that let the little princess know that she was about to be put in her place. "So, family road trips are girls only stuff? What about chores? Or changes to rules? Must I go on?"

"No." Lola squeaked, holding her head low.

"How did you know what we talk about?" Luna asked.

"That's what the meetings are supposed to be for." Their mother said. "And being a woman myself, I can tell you that there is nothing about being a woman that should require weekly meetings for six months.."

She had a point there. Lynn was glad they didn't really go into that much detail about being a woman and all that crap. Aside from being fit enough to play sports, she hated her body. She looked like . what was it those girls at school said? Oh yeah, like a little boy waiting for his nuts to drop.

"We knew there was more to those meeting besides just girl talk, and that Lincoln was being excluded," Rita told them. "We knew because whenever Lincoln broke a new rule, he acted like he didn't even know there was a new rule. He had the same reactions when we told him about the change in chores, and when we were going on that trip to Aloha Beach, which he was unaware of."

Lynn tried to find a way to justify just how all of that was considered girl stuff, but she found herself drawing a blank. Damn brain, work harder.

"We wondered about all of that for a little while, thinking it might have had something to do with his change in moods. We didn't say anything because we thought that one of his sisters would help him. We HOPED that we had raised mature young girls who knew what it meant to be a family. Lately you've been acting like a group of selfish girls who think it is alright to leave their only brother out of everything. Now I want to know why. Well, I'm waiting." Rita crossed her arms and waited for one of her daughters to speak up.

 ** _~Lily~_**

Lily walked through the backyard and admired her surroundings. Something about the weather, the dark clouds, and the rain seemed to make the colors of the plants that much brighter. One thing she noticed was Akari was in no hurry to shoo her out of the rain, this made Dear Akari one of her new favorite people, she loved the rain but her parents and siblings seemed determined to keep her dry as possible. She hurried along the cobblestone path, sure she was being indulged but she knew better than to terry to long a little rain was fine but prolonged exposure could make her ill, she went to the covered bridge they crossed earlier. There saw a young girl that looked to be about her age. She peered over the edge and watched the raindrops hit the pond under the bridge.

As Lily drew closer, the girl turned to her and Lily noticed that they were roughly the same height, the girl maybe being an inch or two taller. Her hair was black as the night itself, and her green eyes shined her namesake.

"You, uh, you must be Jade," Lily said, sticking her hand out for the little girl to shake. Was that too formal? Not formal enough? She didn't know what to do here, bow? Hug? Nod?

"And you must be Lily," Jade said, her smile making Lily instantly feel at ease. Jade moved in for a hug, putting her arms around the proper young lady. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too," Lily said.

Jade broke the hug and continued to smile at Lily.

"So... What were you doing?" Lily asked.

"Oh, I just love the sound of the rain when it hits the pond," Jade said. "I love the sound of water period, it has this incredible calming effect."

Lily could see that. She to, enjoyed the sounds of nature. On their last camping trip to Scratchy Bottom, she walked away from everyone and found a nice rock to sit on. She sat there and just listened to the birds, the breeze, the rustle of the trees. It was very relaxing, which was something that she often found herself needing to do, relax.

"Come, my brother is bringing us tea and cakes, let's get comfortable there's a tent set up for us under that tree near the Koi pond," Jade said. "We can talk and get to know each other better. Of course, if it starts lightning or thundering will need to evacuate."

"Oh, that sound simply delightful, hopefully, it stays with just rain," Lily said.

"I absolutely adore your accent," Jade said.

"Why thank you," Lily said with a slight bow.

"Oh, you are most welcome."

 ** _~Kat~_**

Lincoln had cried himself out, falling asleep in the arms of both girls. They carefully laid him back to rest in the bean bag chair, his head tilted to the side. Kat looked at Skyla ready to, what exactly? Tell her off? Tell her best friend to leave Lincoln alone, never touch him again? Say that she was actually a little intrigued by her best friend kissing her crush? Sweet mothers milk, this was a confusing time for her. Apparently confusing enough for her to think the phrase, sweet mothers milk.

"Kat, sweetie," Skyla smiled at her friend, "it's going to be okay. I promise." She reached out and put a hand on Kat's shoulder, offering a reassuring smile.

Kat put her hand on top of Skyla's and returned the smile.

"So, you like him then?" Kat asked.

Skyla was silent for a minute, Kat knew she was letting the question roll around in her mind, examining it from every angle she could think of, asking herself question after question after question. "Yes." She said.

Both girls looked at each other for a moment that lasted longer than moments were supposed to last. Kat already had a feeling that Skyla felt the same way, she didn't need to say it, it was in her eyes, the way his name rolled off her tongue. She was shot through the heart as Bon Jovi would say. They let out sighs and half-hearted smiles. One little word. One simple little word, and now a friendship sat on a plank with a blindfold and lollipop, the girls didn't smoke and they hated smoking thus so did their friendship, awaiting its fate.

"Kat," Skyla started, looking deep into her friend's eyes, "you know what I want. What I have wanted for a while now." She reached out and fingers gently touched Kat's cheek, sending a wave of panic and excitement throughout the young girl's body. "I can't, and won't, tell you what you should do here. Only you can decide what you want."

"I know Sky, I had a feeling that part of the reason you wanted him over here was to help yourself to a nice big piece of Lincoln pie ... and some Kat milk to wash that down with. Well damn, now I'm hungry."

"I'm not, that was a little disgusting, not going to lie," Skyla said. "Kat milk? Really?"

"Shut up."

Kat rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, her mind wondering a million miles in a whole other direction.

"I should have been more upset when you kissed him, but I wasn't." She told her friend. "Guess that means something right? I mean he is my Snowflake."

"You know that's an insult in some geek circles."

"Don't care, I like it and it fits him," Kat said.

"Always the rebel." Skyla joked.

"Just call me Kitty Idol." She looked over and smiled at Skyla, who just shook her head.

Skyla came over and laid down next to Kat, curling up and resting an arm across her chest. Kat moved one arm over onto Skyla, soon the two were cuddled up together, which was not unheard of in their friendship. Though, all of that was before their feelings were out in the open. They laid like that for a little while, comfortable in each other's arms.

"How long do we let him sleep? He and Lily will have to go home eventually, and I really don't want him spending all his time here playing slumberjack." She laughed as she listened to Lincoln, who sounded like a chainsaw ripping into a mighty oak.

"Let him rest, he's earned it," Skyla said. "Soooo, about that Kat milk?"

"Okay, when you say it, it's gross." Kat laughed.

 ** _~Lily~_**

Lily followed Jade to the spot her new friend had pointed out. They broke from the cover of the bridge that helped keep them dry, thankfully Jade had a large umbrella adorned with cherry blossoms to keep them dry as they made their way to the tent that was about the size of the bedroom she and Lincoln shared. The low hanging branches and green leaves of the large tree caused the rain to making interesting sounds and patterns as it continued to come down. Lily found the sounds soothing and knew she'd get lost in them if she didn't stay focused.

Inside the tent was a small device that Lily had recognized as an Echo, Lincoln had been saving to get one just so he could say "computer …" and give it instructions as they did on those Star Trek shows he liked. Of course Lily was also looking forward to it.

"Have you ever used an Echo before Lily?" Jade sat down at a small low table in the middle of the tent. The youngest Loud realized that she had been gawking at a possession, which was quite rude of her, and soon found herself feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Why are you blushing? Nothing wrong with admiring a nice piece of tech." Jade told her. "Would you like to try it? Ask it to play Jade10, but remember to say Computer first."

Lily found it odd how Jade seemed to just read her mind like that. "Computer," the Echo beeped. "Play Jade10." Lily continued.

"Sorry, I cannot find the playlist Blade10." The Echo replied.

"Yeah," Jade smile, "Star Trek level this isn't. You should see the trouble Skyla has getting her Reiki playlist to work ..."Jade sighed, "computer." The Echo beeped again, "Play Skyla Reiki."

The Echo responded a second later "Welcome to Rachio! You must download the Alexa Rachio App to use Rachio with this account. Please use your Rachio account name and password to use Rachio…" The machine droned on for a bit repeating Rachio over and over.

"What the Bloody Blazes is Rachio!?" Lily shook her head in disbelief.

"Some sort of Sprinkler control system, we had it for a bit, until Skyla kept turning it on trying to play an album of Reiki music and it soaked Father and Grandmother." Jade giggled.

"I remember that!" A tall man said as he entered the tent carrying a platter in one hand like a waiter. He set the platter down on the little table and Lily noticed it was covered with a piece of cloth that appeared to be scans of old TV Guide covers. Lily recognized William Shatner in his T.J. Hooker uniform. Sometimes she would catch her father watching METV and that show would be on. The man lifted the cover to reveal a small stack of sandwiches, some cans of sodas and what looked like some sweet buns. "I'm Alex Miyamoto, Lily's older brother and third oldest in the family, nice to meet you. I also brought you, girls, warm towels and as soon as I'm gone close to tent and punt on these dry clothes, we don't want anyone catching a cold after all." He bowed as he sat down a small waterproof container and smiled at Lily, who found herself blushing just a tad.

Alex reminded Lily of someone but she could not place it. He had kind eyes that, though she was much much younger than she was, made her heart beat speed up ever so slightly. She knew that the other girls would tell her that meant she was, as they would say, crushing on him. She chose to look at it as admiring his beauty, both inner and outer. She was a proper lady and therefore allowed to do so. His black hair was about ear length and a bit messy, what was it Lori called that look? Oh yeah, bed head. She also said that style went out with boy bands and MTV showing actual music videos, whatever any of that meant. All she knew was that his soft features, warm smile, and caring eyes, made her forget who and where she was.

"But yeah, Grandmother is the very definition of Zen, except that day," Alex said. "She calmly forgave Skyla, then with the same calm demeanor, called up Amazon and proceeded to tell whoever answered to just record her message and pass it on to whoever is in charge of voice recognition. Then she proceeded to launch into a loud rant, switching from English, to Japanese, to Chinese then Russian, Korean and finally Tibetan, before asking calmly and politely if they would pass that on. She even told them that she would be most grateful and told them to have a lovely day. Ever since then we've all been a little afraid of her."

"Why did she switch languages so many times?" Lily asked.

"My only guess would be she didn't want us to know how badly she was cursing them out," Alex told her.

"Oh dear, I simply forgot myself there for a moment," Lily said. "I am Lily, by the way, I usually have better manners than this."

Alex laughed and took Lily's hand, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you, Lily.

Lily smiled and could feel her cheeks getting warmer.

"Anyway Jade-chan call me if you need me I'm heading back in. Me and Dad are going to see Dimitri about getting Lincoln some training." Alex nodded again to Lily and hugged Jade before running out.

Jade's eyes suddenly got big as saucers. "ALEX!" She tried to yell in time. "WATCH OUT FOR THAT!" There was a thud, "tree…"

"…I'm ok .." He raised his hand and gave a thumbs up."... darn tree jumped in front of me…"

"Does he do that a lot?" Lily asked. "My sister Leni does that a lot, only she walks into and through walls…"

Jade's head whipped around and looked at her with a worried expression as Alex poked his head in a squirrel now perched atop it calmly eating an acorn.

 ** _~Lori~_**

At first, Lori had resented having an ever-growing number of younger siblings, it wasn't so bad when there had only been the five of them. Then Lincoln came along, and soon after came Lucy, the twins, Lisa and finally Lily. Each new sister ... sibling, she meant sibling, had caused their parents to work more and Lori to take on more and more responsibility. She was often left in charge and had to look out for her siblings, not so hard with just the oldest girls as they were all a year apart. It was the younger ones, and Lincoln, in general, that was difficult. With Lincoln being the only boy the job got complicated real fast. Especially as Lincoln got older and had to be bathed separately, dressed apart from the others, use the bathroom alone and the countless other issues that came up while taking care of one boy amidst so many girls. And the other girls certainly did not make things any easier, with each of their personalities clashing and causing so many different conflicts among them.

This eldest sister business was a job that really should have come with a paycheck, but somehow it always seemed to get lost in the mail. In time things changed, and Lori started to like taking care of the others. Something about being looked up to and relied on seemed to really suit her. It was hard at first sure, and she did not make it any easier as she tended to be such a control freak with them. The Queen of No, they called her. In time she lightened up and enjoyed her time with her siblings. She assumed a lot of that stemmed from the fact that she had finished High School and would be out of the house soon as a college accepted her. That meant she would be seeing less and less of her family. She hated that idea, and truth be told, being the oldest sister had become a major part of her personal identity. Sure, she knew that was how things were, you grew up and moved on, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She had spent her whole life with her family and would miss them terribly, so she wanted to spend as much time as she could before she had to leave.

Of course, then things changed again. Her last year in high school also meant she had to spend time with her friends and work hard on her grades. Her schools of choice rejected her and now she'd be taking classes online through Thomas Edison State University in New Jersey, and her new job as a waitress at Aloha Comrade to help pay bills, all of this left Lori with very little energy or time. A lot of her sisterly duties were starting to fall by the wayside.

Those first few meetings she excluded Lincoln because they actually were sisters only. Lori wanted to pass on some knowledge and just do girl talk. Soon the others would be leaving as well, Leni, Luna, Luan, and then Lynn. All of them one after the other would go off to college as well. This would mean even less time with them. She figured it would be nice to have some girl time. Of course, those were just the first few meetings. After that, they went back to talking about the normal stuff. To be honest, Lori kind of thought one of the other girls would bring it up that it was okay for him to return to the meetings. She had been so exhausted that she sort of forgot to do it herself. When she noticed that he wasn't showing up she assumed that he was either mad, did not care, or that one of the other sisters was talking to him on their own time. She guessed wrong.

"This is my fault," Lori told her mother. "I should have talked to him when he stopped showing up to the meetings. I just assumed he didn't want to come to them anymore, but still, I should have at least checked in on him."

"He had no business in those .." Lynn started.

"Shut up Lynn!" Lori snapped. "The first couple of meetings were for the girls, after that it wasn't like there was anything in there that Lincoln couldn't have found useful."

Lynn stared Lori in the eyes, not backing down this time, "Like what?" Lynn's face was flushed, her teeth barred like she was an animal ready to strike.

"Dealing with strangers, managing a budget, protecting yourself from assault. Do those all sound like things that only a girl needs to know Lynn? Huh? What about not getting tricked by strangers on the internet? You going to stand there and tell me that only girls get tricked and snatched by creepy old assholes!" Lori demanded.

"Alright you two, knock it off." Rita jumped in quickly before their argument escalated into a full-blown fight. "Lynn, I have no clue what your issue is with your brother and the rest of your sisters, but you better figure it out soon. I am getting sick and tired of this attitude of yours."

Lori smiled, glad to finally have some backup. She was pretty sure that Lynn was getting ready to hit her. Fighting was not new among this family, but it rarely ever got to the point where they would use a closed fist. Open handed slaps, and the occasional hair pulling would come up, but it was never a real fight. Lori wondered how she would fare in an actual fight with Lynn.

"Now Lori, I need to ask you something. Why sibling meetings for these girls only talks? Couldn't you have a chat when Lincoln was at Clyde's? Or go out one on one? I thought all of us including Lincoln had learned our lessons from that fight over the dress and when he pretended to be bad luck. Yet here we are repeating some of the same mistakes. I'm going to take a guess here and assume Lynn has been repeatedly telling Lincoln the meetings are girls only."

"Yes, ma'am…" Lynn said.

Those words hit Lori like a slap across the face, "If you'll excuse me," she told them in a distant voice before slowly heading up to her room.

 ** _~Lincoln~_**

It had been the best sleep he'd had in months, Lincoln stretched out and felt something soft and warm run through his hair, he looked up to see Kat smiling at him, Skyla nearby. Okay, he could get used to this.

"Have a good nap Snowflake?" Kat covered her mouth to hide a giggle.

"Snowflake?" Lincoln blinked twice at that name.

"It's your name now," Kat smiled down at him.

Lincoln smiled back, he'd always wondered how this would go once he was with someone, would they have to give each other pet names, would he act like Lori, Luna or his parents? Well, he had two nicknames one from each girl so it only followed that, "Katnip," he spoke without even thinking.

"Katnip," she repeated then giggled, "Katnip!" She peppered him with kisses."

"I think she likes it Little One."

"What was your first clue… Okay got nothing for you yet." Lincoln shrugged.

"Take your time, sometimes these things just happen. Sometimes it has to be made to happen, now how about I order us and our little sister's food?" Skyla got up and went to get a menu.

"Hey girls, question," Lincoln rubbed his left shoulder.

"Go ahead Snowflake," Kat was still playing with his hair, something Lincoln decided she could whenever she wanted for as long as she wanted.

"What exactly are we?" At his words, both girls stopped looked at each other then back to him.

 ** _~Lori~_**

Upstairs Lori sat on her bed looking at the ceiling and sighed, with just a few words her mother had destroyed each and every explanation, no excuse Lori had given for what they'd done. She could have just taken the time to go and spend a little one on one time with each of the girls and talk to them about that sort of thing. She didn't need to kick Lincoln out of the meetings. The whole reason she wanted to even do the talks in the first place was to have some time with each of her siblings before she left. Though, now that she thought about it, did she even have a plan to spend some time with her brother?

She was sure there was at least a roaming thought that had plans in there somewhere, but she could not think of anything that was really fleshed out. She knew damn near every detail of how she wanted to spend time with the girls, but not her own brother. Dammit. This made her wonder what she even knew about Lincoln. The girls had all grown so close over the past few months, and she knew more about them than ever. But what did she know of Lincoln? She knew his favorite comic was Ace Savvy, his favorite band was SMOOCH but beyond that? She remembered playing Muscle Fish with him once when mom and dad went out on a date, but other than that she started drawing a blank. She never bothered to ask him how he'd learned to draw so well, enough to make his own comic book, enter a contest open to adults and win. Now that she thought about what the hell ever happened with that anyhow? Did he read any other comics? She couldn't even name the game Kat and Skyla bought for him. She felt like she failed as a big sister, well time to start fixing things the only way she knew how.

"Time to meddle," Lori smirked as she stood up and headed for Lincoln's room.


	7. Sister Fight Protocol: Level Omega

**Here we go folks, chapter seven! I thought I'd respond to a few reviews this time around.**

 **Dogbertcarroll, you are more right than you know.**

 **Samtastic 3.0, oh yes many confrontations are coming.**

 **Fanboy-Guest, indeed "What are Lincoln, Kat, and Skyla?" is the question of this story.**

 **DreadedCandiru2 agreed. Of course, as Rita pointed out Sibling Meetings are NOT the place for those topics.**

 **MegaRiderKnux, all I'll say it Lynn doesn't have issues. Lynn Loud Jr. OWNS the publishing company.**

* * *

 **~Lynn~**

Not long after Lori excused herself, their parents had gone out to run a few errands. Lynn thought she heard her father mention something about getting more cilantro for a dish he was working on. Once the parents were out of the house, the girls all finished their meals surrounded by a cold and tense silence that you cut and serve to guests. "Here sweetie pie, have another slice of tension." For some reason that made her smile, even though she hated the feeling that hung about the room. She decided her best course of action was to quickly shovel her food down then take a page from Lori and head to her room.

Once the food was in her belly, Lynn got up to leave before Lucy opened her mouth.

"Don't forget to put your dishes away," The Little Goddess of Goth said in her monotone way of speaking.

God damn family, Lynn thought to herself. Why couldn't I be an only child? She walked back to the table and snatched her plate and bowl up, giving Lucy a look that would have her on death row if looks did indeed kill. She went back to the kitchen, placed the dishes in the sink and rinsed them off, leaving the rest of the work for a later time. Then walked back past the table and jolted up the stairs like she had a turtle head a popping. Gross, but then Lynn was never one for tact.

Once in her room she grabbed a tennis ball from her sports bag, she used to call it a ball sack until their parents heard and she got a talking to, then Lynn flopped on the bed. She tossed the tennis ball into the air and caught it, doing this more times than Lisa could probably count. This sort of thing helped her think, she didn't know why, and to be honest she could care less, it worked after all, and it was something she enjoyed. Her mind wondered, taking a leisurely stroll down memory lane, as she began to wonder where her issues with her brother had started. She always had a bit of a temper, though she wondered why she mainly aimed that rage towards him. Of course, back then her temper was not a bad as it was now, but then she didn't have the amounts of stress, the troubles with other kids, or the daily family drama that all seemed to plague her as she did now. No, back then it was different. Things seemed simple and fun, but then it changed not long after the incident with Lincoln's tooth.

She remembered that Lincoln had always been a little clingy, but once he had to start sleeping in his room, he got even more clingy. He would try and sneak back into their room and crawl into bed with either her or Lucy. Of course, when he did try it with her, she would always send him to Lucy, she didn't need any of that. At least that was what she would always tell herself. Tough girls weren't soft, they didn't cuddle, and they didn't share a bed with their little brother. Although she had broken that rule a few times, Lincoln knew better than to go blabbing that around to his friends.

During that period, it seemed as if Lucy and Lincoln had gotten closer, as Lucy would sometimes even sneak out of their room and stay with Lincoln. She did this because she did not want him to feel lonely, which he often told them he did. Well duh, he was alone in his room, but he should have been a man, nutted up, and excepted that having your space often meant you would be lonely. She felt alone a hell of a lot of the time. No one stopped to hold her hand and tell her it was all going to be okay, no she had to learn to deal with her shit; if she had to learn then, Lincoln was going to have to as well. That was why Lynn took every chance she could to drive a wedge between them and make sure that Lincoln just grew the fuck up.

It was during the annual martial arts tournament that she got what she was after. Lynn had been doing martial arts since she was five years old, first getting into it after watching a Jackie Chan flick, she was pretty sure it was Rumble in the Bronx, not his best, but it got her started down the path of being a little badass. Once she was old enough to compete in the annual tournaments, she started a winning streak the likes of which had still yet to be seen duplicated. Of course, that all stopped the day, HE moved to town ...

 **~Three years ago, Royal Woods Community Center. Lynn Age Eleven~**

The finals of the Royal Woods martial arts tournament were here, and once again Lynn Loud found herself in it. That was no surprise to her. What was a surprise, however, was how well the new kid was performing. His name was Cory MacMillian, and he came from Scotland. She knew this because of his accent, and he wouldn't shut up about it. Well, to be fair, she had only talked to him once. He came over and introduced himself, talking with an accent that left her wondering if he had taken one too many blows to the head. The only thing he did say that made one lick of sense, was that he was from Tatsu Sento, which she had heard of, they trained hard fighters, but not as hard as her. Well, she was going to plant her right foot on the left side of his head, and there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do about it. That was what she told herself. She must not have listened to her hype all that well.

As always, Lucy clung to Lincoln like sweaty underpants to a butt crack. Lincoln was still sort of out if it after the "accident" with his tooth. It bothered her that they were so close while she was left always feeling like the odd girl out, but that was pretty much her family. The twins, then only four years old, wandered around the center in search of their fun. Some of the parents from the martial arts academy would look after the kids, mainly moms and dads that didn't have the stomach to watch their kids get hit. Lisa, two years old at the time, watched on silently like she was somehow absorbing all of this into that tiny genius brain of hers. It was hard to believe that someone that young could be that smart, but they had the papers to prove it. The girl had been through more tests than a grad student.

The matched lasted about as long as it would take to run to the bathroom, and even then that might have taken longer. The ref shouted for them to begin, she went out with a solid plan feel him out and get a good sense of what she was up against, then she would put the beating down. What happened was she walked out, threw a kick, and took a punch to the chest that felt like a god damn cannonball. She was down, gasping for breath and before she knew it, his hand was raised in victory. Her team came to her, helping to her feet and asking her what happened. She wanted to tell them but damned if she knew. All she could say was that she blinked, then fell and watched this punk get his hand raised. She wanted to go over there and punch him in the nuts, but held it together and bowed, showing the proper respect. Still, inside her head she was roasting him over an open flame, an apple in one end a stick in the other.

Later she felt the need to take it out on someone, and it turned out that someone would be Lincoln. No, she didn't hit him, what she did was much worse. As she was gathering her stuff, Lincoln went to get a drink, but he seemed to be taking forever. The girls all went to look for him, finding him near a soda machine talking to the kid that just knocked her on her ass. Lincoln and Cory were talking like they were old friends or something. The other girls all looked to Lynn, to see how this was affecting her. She quickly put on her best "hurt" face, to act as if her flesh and blood and just stabbed her right in the heart by exchanging words with the boy who beat her down. Once Lincoln got back with the family the rest of the girls were all cold to him, even Lucy had become distant. Later they would explain, in a sibling meeting of course, how Lincoln had betrayed them all by talking to Cory, how it hurt Lynn and how he needed to apologize, and accept the punishment of being a traitor, and getting the silent treatment.

 **~Present Day, Lynn~**

Looking back on it all, Lynn had to admit that it was pretty stupid. She didn't regret it, but it was stupid. Actually, a lot of it was kind of dumb when she thought about it, the way they acted. Silly little Protocols, branding people as traitors, holding meetings like they were some sort of secret society of some kind. It was all like it was out of one of Lincoln's science fiction or fantasy novels.

Later their parents had found out that Lincoln had just dropped a quarter and Cory was helping him find it. Afterward, Corey had started a conversation, and Lincoln was never one to be rude, so he chatted with the Scottish boy. Just another thing that Lynn would use as an excuse to take something out on her little brother. It was becoming a recurring theme in their lives.

Lynn couldn't help but wonder if Lucy and Lincoln would be as close as he was to Lily if not for that day. Did she really make him a bit of a pariah among his own family? She was trying to drive a wedge between the two of them, but she wondered if she might have gone a bit too far.

 **~Lori~**

Lori pushed the door open to the room that Lincoln and Lily shared, greeted by the creek of rusted hinges and the smell of Lavender coming from the scented candles that sat on the dresser near the door. She knew that Lavender was often used as a scent to help people relax and fall asleep, making her wonder if Lincoln or Lily were having issues with that. Nightmares maybe? That made her wonder why they had not come to her and slept in her bed like they used to, well Lincoln was twelve now it would be a bit awkward, but then again it wasn't unheard of for one of the older sisters to sleep with them after a nightmare. Now that she thought about it when was the last time either of them had come to her? Had she been that out of touch with her own family? Jesus Christ Lori, what happened to you? She thought to herself.

She started to look around the room, how neat and tidy the place was. No comic books scattered about, no dirty clothes, no real evidence that an eleven-year-old boy was living in there at all. But then that made sense. She remembered how they would often get on him about keeping his space clean, more than a little hypocritical seeing as how some of them could be slobs. She tried to justify it by saying that she wanted him to be better than them, which was not too far off from the truth, but even she knew there had to be a better way to do that.

Back in April, they had confronted him about not giving Lily any space for her stuff, the door to their room was open, and Lola had noticed that it seemed Lincoln's games and comics were all over the place. They did what they always did lately, held a meeting about it, minus the two who the meeting was about of course. Then the oldest girls went to lay out their verdict on Lincoln. Lincoln had tried to explain but was told to be quiet, then to their shock Lily laid into the girls with a lecture on how they needed to mind their own business and let Lincoln and herself run their room their way. She went on to point out how Lincoln had given her several of his comics and games and loaned her some others. Lily went on to explain she was curious about his interests. No one else ever seemed to care about their only brother's interests unless it was to teach him a lesson or it benefited them in some way. Of course, this just shifted the conversation to the older girls telling Lincoln to stop trying to mold Lily into his version of a sister. The other girls' treatment of Lincoln did not sit well with the littlest Loud in the least. She folded her arms and told them that if they were just there to pick a fight with Lincoln, then they would have to pick a fight with her as well. It was disconcerting, to say the least being told off by their youngest sibling yet here it was the sisters hitting a united front between the two of them.

Surprisingly it was Luan who spoke up and settled things down. She told the others that Lily was right and that if they had an issue about the room, they should be allowed to settle it themselves like everyone else was and to take their advice own advice to Lincoln and butt out. Luan went on to point out the pair could come to them if they felt the need and it wouldn't be too hard to know if they had to step in. She had been doing that a lot as of late. She had become a mentor to Lucy, taken control of sibling meetings, and even stood up to Lynn on a few occasions. Lori was going to need to talk to Luan about taking on a more prominent role with running things between the siblings; maybe she would have better luck. She would have spoken to Leni or Luna, but Luna was too caught up in her music, and the band she was forming with Sam, Chuck and some kids from school as for Leni was, well, she was Leni.

Lori crossed the room and walked over to some posters that were tapped up on the wall. Bands she had never heard of called Sabaton and Therion, were up there. She made a mental note to ask Luna about them later, maybe even listen to some of it and try to understand her brother more. The bookshelf next to the posters had various books and video games in them, one of them stood out, the game Skyla and Kat had bought him a week ago: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5: Ultimate collection. She had no clue what any of that was. She took it out and looked at the cover and the back; it was a re-release of a game that came out recently with all of its DLC, another thing she didn't understand, and included Persona 1-4 remastered for the PS4. It also said something about a coupon for Shin Megami Tensei collection for the 3DS. What the hell was a 3DS? All she knew was that it was it appeared to be a rare game from Japan.

She put the game back and looked at some of the books on the bookshelf. There were titles in there like, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Both appeared to be self-help books, there were others, but she moved on. On the next shelf down was the Art of War, which she had heard of before. She took the book out and flipped through to a bookmarked page.

"There are roads one does not follow.; there are armies one does not strike." She read out loud to herself. "There are cities one does not attack; there are grounds one does not contest, there are commands of the sovereign one does not accept." She mulled over the passage for a moment before placing the book back on the bookshelf.

Then there were books on reading body language, influence, and persuasion. These books she recognized as the art of Convincing as Lincoln loved to call it.

Then Lori spied a book called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene opening to a random page what she read made her blood run cold:

"Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude. If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself."

Under this Lincoln had written: This is basically how my family operates. You want something either have chocolate, be ready to do an even bigger return favor, or make sure there is something in it for them. Even then that might not be enough. See Second Law.

The Second Law warned against trusting friends as they would betray you. Again a note from Lincoln: I HATE this, all these Laws are about using people and manipulating them, yet this is precisely how a lot of my classmates act. Will I have to be like this too? Is this really how the world works?

Lori wanted to toss the book in the garbage but put it back instead and made a mental note to have a chat with him and a hug, lots of hugs.

Right next to these was a book called the War of Art. She took it out and leafed through the pages, seeing that it was a book for artists wanting to improve their craft. That was when she noticed the variety of art books on the shelf below. Dynamic Anatomy, Draw What You See, How to Draw in Thirty Days and a series of books on Mastering Manga all titles designed to teach or improve artistic skills. Under that shelf were several sketchbooks. She removed one and flipped through it, seeing Lincoln's drawings. The first one was not very good, though much better than what she could ever hope to do. She noticed he had talent but had not yet sharpened the skill. The next book saw him getting much better, each page showing improvement. She put that one back and skipped to the last book, which was only half full. The drawings in there were amazing, almost photorealistic, and a significant leap from what the first book was. She wondered how long he had been doing this? She knew he liked to draw, she remembered the comic book that he did for that contest, but this, this was something on a whole other level. After going over several drawings of the sisters: Lori playing gold, Leni sewing, Luna rocking out on her guitar, Luan with a pie at the ready a smirk on her lips, Lynn scoring a touchdown, Lucy reciting a poem, Lana laying by a pound with Hops, Lola singing for a pageant, Lisa looking into a microscope and Lily performing a gymnastic routine. Finally, she found a photo of Lincoln just standing there with a sad expression on his face.

"Lori?" A monotone voice said from behind, making Lori jump nearly out of her skin.

"Dammit, Lucy!" Lori yelled, clutching at her heart.

"Sorry," Lucy said.

"No, it-it's okay," Lori said. "That one is partially on me; I was lost in my head there for a moment. Lynn could have stomped through here I doubt I would have noticed."

"What are you doing in here?" The little Goth asked.

"Just trying to see if I can figure Lincoln out." She told her. "I came up here looking for answers, but I'm literally coming away with more questions." She handed the sketchbook over to Lucy. "Take a look at this."

Lucy flipped through it much as she had just done moments ago, stopping on the same drawing that Lori had as well. Lucy looked up with what Lori assumed was a confused look. It was hard to tell with Lucy's hair covering half her face.

"Why does he look so sad here?"

"I don't know," Lori said. "I but I plan to find out."

Lucy looked back at the drawing again, a faint hint of a smile touched her lips. "He is very good at drawing."

"Yeah, but then he did win that contest last year," Lori shook her head looking at that one picture, "seems there might be more than one secret he has been keeping from us," Lori said.

"Can you blame him?" Lucy said, looking at her big sister.

Lori had to stop and think about it for a moment. If Lucy had said that to Lori earlier in the morning, or just a few days ago, she probably would have gotten her ass chewed out. She was pretty sure she would have told Lucy how Lincoln was lucky to have a big sister like her and even more fortunate to have the kind of sisters that care about him the way they did. Now, she honestly wondered if Lincoln would have been better off as an only child.

"No, I can't say that I do," she finally said, the words exhausting her very soul, "what are you doing in her Luce?"

She handed over a small pile freshly cleaned and folded clothing. "Returning these. I suspect Lincoln will want to drop them back off at Liam's for his... kit." The words faded out in disgust like Lucy was chewing on something sweet and tasty then it suddenly turned sour.

Lori couldn't blame Lucy, the whole idea that Lincoln had to have an emergency kit for when he was not allowed in the house seemed ridiculous, and yet here it was. How could they have let this happen? Of course, that question was just stupid, she knew exactly how. She failed him, all of her siblings, as a big sister. She took the clothing from Lucy and sat it on Lincoln's bed.

"If you'll excuse me," Lucy said, turning and leaving the room.

Lori sat beside the pile of clothing and looked back at the sketchbook. She didn't know why she needed to find the answer, she knew it would do her little good, but for some reason, she had to know. How long had Lincoln felt the way he did?

 **~Lucy~**

Lucy returned to her room to find Lynn on the bed tossing one of her balls into the air and catching it. It marveled her how Lynn could block out everything around her and be so ... well Lynn, about everything. Their only brother had secrets he was keeping from them; he had emergency sets of clothing he kept at his friends' houses because of the way they were treating him. He had two new friends of the female persuasion that he was spending time with, and he did not feel comfortable telling any of his sisters besides Lily. This seemed like something important to Lucy, but Lynn appeared to not care in the least. Add to that the fact that she had threatened both Lincoln and Lily, and even swung a bat at them, and Lucy was even more stunned by the nonchalant attitude of her sister.

"I cleaned and returned Lincoln's clothing for you ... you're welcome." Lucy said, a small amount of emotion creeping into her voice.

"Didn't ask you to do it, Luce, so yeah ..." Lynn responded.

"When where you going wash them? Once they got moldy? When they started to smell?" Lucy crossed her arms and glared at her sister through the curtain of black bangs that hung over her face.

"How about not at all? His clothing he can clean them." Lynn sat up and glared at Lucy.

"So THAT'S how it is then?" Lucy said, taking a step further. "Swing a bat at him, take away his cellphone, attack his friend, and now you just take his clothing and toss it like trash?"

"Yeah well ..." Lynn was not one for verbal fighting; she was much better with her fists. She struggled to find something snappy to shoot back at Lucy. "It's his fault if he'd just do what he's told this wouldn't happen!" She snapped.

"What he's told!? Do you even listen to yourself? We didn't tell him anything, and you were supposed to ask him politely!" Lucy said.

"I don't politely ask anyone anything. I do things my way." Lynn shouted.

"Dang, it Lynn! Don't you get it yet? This mess is on us! We screwed up! ESPECIALLY YOU!" Lucy pointed straight at her.

"ME!?" Lynn was on her feet and within inches of her sister, "Listen here, Luce! Yeah, I may have been out of line but don't any of you try and act like Saints. Anyone of you could have walked over there and knocked on his door and talked to him! Did you no!"

"Don't try and deflect this Lynn; you got off the hook last time you threatened him with a bat over your stupid baseball game! Hell, I don't think mom and dad are even going to punish you for SWINGING at him! So can you PLEASE at least take some responsibility for lying to him!"

"Look here you little emo…" Lynn growled.

"…emo? WHY OF ALL THE! I'M GOTH YOU LOSER JOCK!" Lucy yelled back. She was inches from Lynn's face, feeling her hot breath. Lucy knew she could not take Lynn in a fight, but dammit she wanted to try.

Before the argument could escalate further, and before the two came to blows, Lori entered the room and pulled them apart, yanking just a bit harder on Lynn then on Lucy.

"Goddammit, you two! We literally don't have time for this crap." Lori scowled at them.

Lisa entered the room to see the commotion, walking up to Lori, she tugged on her elder sister's pant leg.

"Perhaps it is time for a Sister Fight Protocol?" Lisa said.

Lori didn't want to do it, not after what Liam had told her, it wasn't right to keep Lincoln away, not even while there was a Sister Fight Protocol. She just needed time to figure this all out; she could do it, she was supposed to be the responsible one.

"No, we'll figure this out," Lori said. "Let's wait a minute and see if we can get them to cool off first." She turned her attention to Lynn. "You stay here, Lucy you go to Lincoln's room for now."

Lynn huffed and walked back to her bed, once again flopping down on top. Lucy glared, or at least that was what everyone in the room assumed, then walked out and back to Lincoln and Lily's room.

"Is this wise eldest sibling?" Lisa asked.

"Honest to god, I have no idea anymore," Lori said with a sigh. "Now if you will excuse me I have to go dole out some more punishment."

Lisa watched Lori leave the room, stroking her chin and wondering if it was not for the best to keep their brother away until this was all over he tended to meddle after all. She considered going behind Lori's back and calling for an SFP anyways.

 **~Luan~**

Luan had just finished taking a shower and changing into something more comfortable. She had on a pair of canary yellow shorts, a pink shirt with a smiley face that that matched the shorts, the emoji sported a big goofy grin. She slipped on some socks and hopped on her bed to read over a few jokes she was working on in a notebook. Luna laid on her bed with her earbuds listening to something that made the rocking girl feel the need to whistle along.

There was a knock on the door, and soon Lori found her way into the room. Luan noticed a small lockbox in her hands. She could not be serious; even Lori was not that cruel. Sure, she was the queen of no, but this was just a whole other level of being a pain in the butt.

"Really?" Luan said, giving her older sister a deadpan expression. She was getting better at those, practicing to be the straight woman in some of the routines she was working up with Giggles.

"Yep," Lori said, running her hand along the top of the lockbox, then patting the top.

By this time Luna had noticed Lori's presence in the room and removed her earbuds. She leaned over the edge of the bunk bed and looked down at Luan.

"What the hell did you do this time?" Luna asked, getting a nervous grin from her sister.

"She cost you two weeks with your little battery-operated friends," Lori said. "For continuing to make off colored comments in front of our kid sisters."

"Jesus Christ Luan!" Luna yelled, throwing even Lori off guard. "What if Lincoln was there!? Can't you even keep your mouth shut for a second?"

"Well, he wasn't there! And we wouldn't have been if not for some sister!" Luan said. "If some people around here trusted him, and wouldn't have kept secrets, then maybe he would have told us where he was going, and we wouldn't have been out there!"

"Wait, so now this is my fault?" Luna said, hopping down from her bed. "And how the hell are you going to blame this one on me?"

"Oh well let's see, little miss I'm the closest sister!" Luan said in a mocking tone that left Luna seeing red. "Maybe if you hadn't been pushing him away then none of this would have happened."

"So, you are going to throw all the blame on me then?" Luna said in a sarcastic tone. "What about you little miss perfect? Huh? He was supposed to be your assistant, yet you fired him and never had the guts to tell him!" She retorted.

"Yeah I wanted to go easy on him," Luan replied. "But at least I didn't treat him like a bigot and think he would judge me if I liked a girl!" Luan ducked just in time, avoiding a slap from her sister.

Lori pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an exhausted sigh. This was literally turning into the weekend from hell. First Lynn and Lucy were at each other's throats, now it was Luan and Luna. It was only a matter of time before the twins smelled the blood in the water and made this a full-on feeding frenzy. Of all the damn weekends to have this shit hit the fan, it had to be when they were dealing with Lincoln's problems as well.

It was at this point that Lori found herself watching from outside of her own body. She watched it all happen and realized that she had no control over the situation in the least. She threw the lockbox across the room, where it crashed against the wall and snapped both her sisters out of their blinding rage for each other. Luan and Luna both looked at their oldest sister with confusion.

"What the hell Lori!?" Luan said.

"Our brother is showing more red flags than a May Day parade," Lori started.

"Good one!" Luan nodded her approval.

"Umm thanks, but now you two, and Lucy and Lynn want to kill each other. I'm at the point I almost don't give a shit anymore!" Lori explained, "Everyone wants to throw blame at each other instead of fixing the problem. I'm going to try and figure out what is going on with our brother; you two can rip each other apart or help me."

Luna shook her head, "Whatever dude Luan mouths off and you want to punish me!?"

"Luna this is about Lincoln! Lori, you can keep mine but leave hers alone she obvious…" Luan stopped herself midsentence this wasn't the time, "come on Lori let's get Leni and try and solve this mess."

With that Lori and Luan headed to the former's room, slamming the door shut behind them.

Lisa watched and decided it was time. She would initiate the Sister Fight Protocol if Lori would not.

"Alright everyone, we are in a Sister Fight Protocol: Level Omega," Lisa said. "I will draw up plans as to where everyone will be sleeping, and I will also initiate the Meddling Brother Protocol."

"Meddling Brother Protocol?" Lola asked.

"It blocks his number, so he cannot contact our parents or us and it will send a message to him telling him to stay away or we will have nothing to do with him for a predetermined time, one week for each infraction to be exact. If he tries to contact our parents or us, I will be informed.

"But where will Linky sleep and what if he is hurt or needs our help?" Lola didn't like this one bit.

"If he has so many contingency plans, he will have one for this and besides he needs to learn to stay out of family matters," Lisa responded.

"Okay but if anything happens to Lincoln," Lola leaned in close to Lisa, "I'm holding you PERSONALLY responsible. Got it!?"

Lisa swallowed, "Got it…"

"Good" Lola backed off as Luna walked up.

"Lisa, what's going on? I heard Lola yelling" Luna crossed her arms.

"I was explaining, my musical sister that, we are in a Sister Fight Protocol: Level Omega. I will draw up sleeping plans for everyone." Lisa told Luna.

"Great what if Lincoln sticks his nose into it like last time?" Luna crossed her arms.

"Already handled dear sister, now then…" Lisa began her outline.

 **~Lincoln~**

Lincoln looked at the two beautiful girls that sat with him. He wondered just what they were to him. Friends? It seemed like they were at least friends. The present, the invite to hang out, the way they talked to him and treated him though. There was more to that. Kat liked him, that much was for sure, and he had to admit that he liked her as well. Skyla, well she was something else altogether. The girl was a mystery, what her intentions were, what she was thinking, the girl was like the wind. Where they both looking to date him? Were they his new girlfriends? That would make things complicated, at best. Oh god! Valentine's day would be hell! Two girls, two sets of gifts! Birthdays oh crap what if Skyla celebrated White Day!? He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Just then his phone buzzed. He checked it, a text from Lisa.

 **Lisa:** Male sibling, a Sister Fight Protocol has been initiated, and you are to avoid our place of residence until further notice. You will be contacted when the situation has resolved itself. Failure to do so will result in a period of social isolation and being shunned. Street Name: The cold shoulder. Do not bother to reply or text me or any of the other sisters, as your number has been blocked until the situation is resolved.

Lincoln let out a sigh, not realizing that Skyla had been reading over his shoulder.

"Seriously?" She said, her tone of voice changing from the sweet and calm girl he had been dealing with all day, to a very frustrated and annoyed girl. "What the hell? What if you were caught out there in the rain? Or gods forbid hurt? I thought Lisa was supposed to be the smart one?"

"Doesn't sound all that smart to me," Kat spoke up.

"Me either," Skyla added.

"Come on guys; she is one of the smartest people I know, maybe one of the smartest people in the country," Lincoln said, coming to aid of the one who exiled him from his own home. "The girl is always inventing stuff; you'd be surprised how often there are explosions at our house." He told them.

"Explosions are not a sign of intelligence," Kat said.

"Proper scientific procedures would mean that explosions were rare," Skyla said.

"Guys, she is only four years old." Lincoln pointed out.

"You can tell by the way she acts," Kat said. "I wonder how much of her scientific research is her just throwing crap to the wall and seeing what sticks."

Lincoln just sighed again. He was starting to feel like Lucy.

"Here let me see that, let's call your Dad," Kat said, taking the phone from him. Lincoln protested, but before his words could be heard, Kat had already dialed the number, getting a sound like a computer trying to connect to the internet in the nineties. She hung up, and then the phone buzzed again with another text.

 **Lisa:** Nice try male sibling, we also blocked Mom and Dad's numbers so you cannot call on them. Consider yourself shunned for a week for attempting to circumvent the Sibling Fight Protocol. When will you learn to stay out of family matters?

"Oh, I wanna clock that bitch," Kat said.

"Ahem, still my sister," Lincoln reminded her, "and that's why I didn't want you to try calling my parents; I knew Lisa would do that." He took the phone back and put it in his pocket. "If you guys can give me a ride to Clyde's house I can stay there. I know they aren't home, but they would be fine with me staying, I got a key."

"No way no how buddy boy," Kat said, looking to Skyla and having a telepathic discussion, or at least that was how Lincoln thought of it.

Skyla got up and walked to the door, poking her head out to see if her sister was still there.

"Hey sis, can we see you for a moment?" Skyla asked.

Akari stepped inside and took a seat on the floor beside Kat and Skyla, who returned to her cushion. Skyla motioned for Lincoln to hand his phone over to Akari, doing as he was told. The older half Asian girl read the messages and curse to herself in Russian, before getting a slight smirk. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through Lincoln's contacts until she came across a number. She dialed and waited.

"Hello? Is this Mrs. Loud? Lincoln's mother?" Akari said, waiting for a response she looked over to Lincoln with a reassuring smile. "Yes, my name is Akari, I am Skyla's older sister. Hmm? Oh, Skyla is one of the girls that Lincoln has been spending the day with." There was a long drawn out pause. "Girlfriend? Well, that I do not know, you will have to ask Lincoln that question when you see him." She looked over to the trio and winked. "Well you see I called because Lincoln received a very odd text from his sister Lisa, something about a fight protocol."

Lincoln couldn't help but wonder if this was going to make things worse between him and the girls or get him kicked out of the house again. Either way, his gut was telling him something, well something other than the fact he was getting hungry.

 **~Rita and Lynn Sr.~**

"I see," Rita said, talking with Akair over the phone. "Yes, I fully intend to have a lot of words with my daughter. Would you mind if my husband and I come by to meet with you and these girls? Yes, I think we have a lot to talk about, and I would love to see Lisa's text messages with my own eyes. Oh, that would be just wonderful, we will see you soon then. Thanks again, bye bye." She hung up the phone and started off in the passing scenery.

Lynn turned at a stop light near a gas station that was proudly boasting about a two for one special on sixteen-ounce cans of a cheap beer. Yuck, he hated the taste of beer, couldn't understand how anyone could drink it.

"So that was the older sister of one of the girls Lincoln is hanging out with today," Rita said.

Lynn could tell by the tone in her voice, and what little he paid attention to of the conversation, that something was going on. In there family however, when was something not going on? "Judging by your tone, that sounds both good and bad honey." He sighed.

They turned into the parking lot that was home to a small shopping center, The Pine Villa, a massive sign on the corner said. There was a little shoe store, a doughnut shop, a few empty buildings. The anchor of the shopping center was the grocery store, a place called Bud's Food Source. It was relatively new to the area, taking over what was once a K-Mart. Since it was new, it was unaware of the reputation the Loud family had developed when food shopping, Lynn still felt his wife came down to hard on Lincoln and not hard enough on the older girls.

"It Seems our daughters have decided to do another Sister Fight Protocol, and Lincoln has been banned from the house," Rita said, getting another sigh from her husband. She suddenly wondered if that was where Lucy had picked up her habit. "We have a dinner invite to meet Lincoln's new friends and talk about this. Oh, and Lisa blocked Lincoln from calling us." Rita shook her head, wondering where exactly they learned this behavior. She knew she should have put the kibosh on the protocol the second they blocked off the majority of the house and used Lincoln's room for it.

"What are you going to do?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Once we find out more I'll decide." She said.

"Well, let me call Lori and see what I can find out." He said. "Maybe she can tell us something."

Lynn dug through his pockets in search of his cell phone, then moved to the various places in the van he might have put it. This was a common thing with him, losing something he knew he had on him. Lynn had once lost his glasses, only to find that they were on his head. Did he put his cell phone on his head? Nah, that would be silly.

Rita sighed and shook her head, handing him the cell phone that he asked her to hold on to earlier. He figured he would lose, but knew he would remember it if she had it. He took the cell phone and flashed a charming smile.

Lynn dialed the phone and waited for Lori to answer. "Hello sweetie it's Daddy," He said. "No everything's fine; we are just about to go into that new grocery store. Anyway, we got a call from where Lincoln is staying... huh? Yes, I knew all along. Because it was no one's business but his. So like I said, we got a call saying that his number is blocked from calling us, you wouldn't know something about that would you? Ahhh I see, well apparently his number got blocked because of a Sister Fight Protocol. What? Hmmm, that is interesting. What? Yeah, sure I'll talk to Luan."

 **~Lori~**

To say that Lori was nearly beyond her wit's end was an understatement. Not only had her sibling all turned on each other like a pack of rabid wild dogs, snipping and snapping at each other. Now, to add to the pile of crap that had been presented before her, she learns that Lisa went behind her back and activated the Sister Fight Protocol, as well as blocked Lincoln's number from calling them and banning him from the house. It was clear to her that Lisa had learned nothing from their outing earlier that afternoon.

Lori was in the middle of planning where she could hide Lisa's body after she strangled her to death, when Luan asked for the phone, motioning for her and Leni to move in closer.

"Dad, put this on speaker so mom can hear, I have an idea how to get Lisa to understand that Lincoln is part of this family too ... "

 **~Lily~**

Alex had left some time ago, sadly pulled away by his father to meet with someone and to bring a guest over to spend the night, a new friend for Lincoln it would seem. Part of her wanted him to stick around and play with them; he seemed sweet and cute. Lily had no other reason to have him around, none at all, she kept telling herself that.

"And then after this bully called Dearest Leni a burden, Lisa offered to help increase her intelligence," Lily told Jade, catching her up on Leni. "So far it doesn't seem to be working all that well, I fear for Leni when she moves out of the house." Lilly sighed, feeling the weight of growing up press down on her heart.

It seemed a terrible thing to her, not seeing her family on a day to day basis. Waking up and knowing that they could be miles apart instead the few feet as she was accustom. She knew that once they were out of the house, that was it, they would be gone. This feeling was brought on by the fact that it was rare for them to see anyone besides Aunt Ruth or Pop-Pop, and that was because they lived close to us. Any other family they had lived far out of state, and they never traveled to seem them. Sure they made plans, but those plans often fell through, and nothing would come of it all. She wondered if that was the norm.

"Hey, now Lily-chan!" Her new friend smiled, putting an arm around her shoulder, "None of that! This is Happy Time; you can talk to your sisters and brother later about what's troubling you. Now let's go see our older siblings, I don't know about your brother, but my Skyla is an awful handful at times."

"You have to take care of your older sister?" Lily asked. She did much the same with her brother and would do so for her sister if asked or given a chance.

"Of course!" Jade boasted. "I take care of all my siblings. Akari, Ami, Alex, Haruto, Himari, Rurik, Skyla, Stas, Tamiko, Victoria and of course Shin."

"You will have to teach me how to balance them all; I have a feeling I will be taking care of all of mine as well." Lily laughed.

"I would love to," Jade said. "Maybe sometime I can introduce you to everyone. Akari, Ami, Haruto, Himari, Rurik, Stas and Tamiko have all moved out, but they all live within walking distance of the house." She explained.

"Oh, that sounds delightful! I must confess that I often fear my family drifting apart, especially my older sisters." She said as they continued walking, coming up on Akari. "Lisa says I shouldn't get to attached to the older girls since at my age I probably won't remember them much after they leave. She said that I should not worry as it would be as if they never existed to me."

"What a horrid thing to tell a child!" Akari said, wondering more about this family. Soon she would talk with the parents and try to get a better sense on just what was going on with that family.

"But, Miss Akari…"

"Just Akari please," the elder Miyamoto girl smiled. She entered the guest house and handed Lincoln his phone.

"Thanks, Akari!" Lincoln smiled at her blushing a little and diverting his eyes.

"No problem Lincoln." She told him, knowing just what was going through the young boys head. "Oh and by the way, there is an excellent chance that Skyla will look like me when she's older," she smirked, " Just something to think about." Lincoln's blush grew. She turned back to Lily and Jade.

"Now who said those things to you about not bothering to care about your older siblings because you'd forget about them?" Akari's tone got a response from Jade.

"Her sister Lisa. She seems to be a smart girl," Jade added, "she's got multiple Ph. Ds and teaches at the community college."

"Ahh Lisa Loud," Akari said, "correction, she has ONE, HONORARY degree in chemistry. She got that for having a High I.Q. and writing a paper that convinced someone to give it to her for political brownie points. After all, she is just a kindergartener, and she's allowed to come to speak from time to time, but again mostly it is brownie points for the higher-ups." Akari explained.

"See Little One not nearly as smart as you think," Skyla told him.

"Yeah, but still pretty dang smart for a girl her age," Lincoln added with a smile.

"True, I'll admit that, and she probably will make a fine scientist one day. However, she's got lots of growing up to do first. Including learning not to be so boorish with her own family, now let's get some food in you, you're stomach is growing," Skyla smiled as Lincoln blushed again.

 **~Lisa and Lana~**

Lisa finished drafting up the plans for the assigned the sleeping quarters, passing them out to everyone present. As Lincoln and Lily where away she placed Luna and Lucy in their room. Lola had protested asking where Lincoln and Lily would sleep. This caught Lisa off guard as she did not plan on an outburst from Lola on such an unimportant subject.

"Lincoln has made plans for an occurrence such as this; now he must execute them. Lily, of course, is allowed to come home if she decides to. In that instance, she would be wise to, as Lynn would say, suck it up. She can find temporary residence with me for the time being."

Lola, getting shocked looks from girls, got within inches of Lisa's face for the second time that day."Fine! But remember what I said if anything happens to our Linky ... ," She leveled a glare at Lynn and Luna as well, cracking her knuckles, "I'm holding all of you personally responsible. Got it!?" The older girls and Lisa had taken a step back and nodded.

After dismissing the girls, Lisa asked Lana to come to join her in her room/laboratory. It had been some time since Lana had been in the converted linen closet, as Lisa was not fond of guests. The walls were now lined with shelves containing books, jars with animals skulls, and vials of liquid. Lana was not sure what any of it was. Not due to a limited amount of knowledge, it was just she would hate to educate a guess when she had little time to study the chemicals and contents of the containers. Lisa shut the door behind her, locking it, and walked to a stool near the desk that had a beaker and microscope on it. She motioned for Lana to take a set on the bed.

"So, what's this about Lisa? No, wait let me guess, it's about how I am suddenly smart right? You want to know how I know all this stuff now right?" Lana said, getting a nod from her sister.

"That would be correct. Tell me, when did you first notice this change? And do you recall when it seemed to take place?" Lisa got a notebook and took a seat by her desk.

Lana thought about for a moment; she had been doing her research, trying to pinpoint an exact time."Near as I can tell, it started around Lincoln's birthday, when you handed out those gummies for us." Lana mentioned. Lincoln's last birthday had been sort of lackluster because so much time and effort was going into preparing for Lori's graduation. After all, this was the first High School Graduation of the family, the start of a yearly tradition. At least until Lynn graduated then, they'd have a break before it was Lincoln's turn. She hoped this didn't mean his next four birthdays would suck and no real parties because of graduation preparations, but still Lincoln was good at taking one for the team.

"Wait," Lisa's words brought Lana out of her thoughts, "Did you say gummies?"

"Yeah you gave them out to everyone, then I dropped mine. I was still willing to eat them, wouldn't have been the worst thing I've put in my mouth, but dad made me throw mine out." Lisa nodded and motioned for her to continue. " Well, then Leni gave me hers, feeling bad that I didn't get any." She tilted her head.

"That's it!" Lisa said, jumping from the stool and pacing the floor. "Those gummies where filled with a formula to make Leni smarter," She paused and looked off into the distance as she tapped her index finger to her chin. "This explains why there has been no change in Leni, and why your own intelligence as grown in such a short period. I'm guessing after this you started reading a lot more correct?" Lana nodded. "Studying on your own and researching?" Lana nodded again. "Well, this is indeed a remarkable surprise," Lisa said excitedly.

"Yeah, Lincoln loaned me some books on philosophy and such. Hey Lisa, will I go back to how I was if I don't take those regularly?" Lana asked. "I know the family is all about Be Yourself and all, but I like this new me!" Lana was worried, she didn't want to go back to the dirty girl she was any more than Lily wanted to go back to saying Poo-Poo all the time. Lily hated being reminded of how she was just a few months ago to such an extent she called the old her 'That Creature,' it had the family worried, but it was decided to give her time and see if she came to terms with it on her own.

"Not at all Lana, the effects are permanent." Lana noticed the change in Lisa's voice, and that she actually used her name, as if she now finally had an intellectual equal that she respected. "Well, I'll have to prepare another dose for Leni and remind her not to share them this time. Hmm, makes me wonder how the effects will be on her." Lisa cared for Leni as she did all her family, in her own way. However, it did not need to verbally communicate that Leni was a hair on the intellectually challenged side. She had doubts the formula would work in the first place, and if they did would probably only raise her intelligence to a normal standard. Seeing the effects on Lana, who was indeed smarter than Leni, if not by much, showed her that it was possible to go beyond the standard. "So our brother is a philosophy man is he?" Lisa asked Lana.

"Philosophy, strategy, art, psychology, he has a lot of books on many different subjects he's reading up on," Lana told her.

"It seems everyone is keeping to their assigned rooms for now dear sister tell me more…" Lisa found this interesting, tons more data on her male sibling to research, "...tell me more."

* * *

 **There we go, folks, as always send some love to my man Zoinks81. Also, expect to get a lot of update notices as I plan to update all of my work for grammar and to tighten up a few plot holes.**


	8. Family Meeting

**Welcome back, Dear Readers! It's been a while. My old laptop died, and I just got this new one so finally back to writing. Hope this new chapter will be worth the wait. A few notes back to my readers!**

 **TheFreezerStreets:** You don't know the half of it life in the Loud House is about to change.

 **Shiningvoice53:** We will have to see and thank you!

 **FanBoy-Guest:** Well it is a Weekend, the timeline we are going for is from Thursday till Monday morning if not a little later. Thursday, of course, has already passed, and we are approaching Friday afternoon. With sequel stories taking place months, even years later.

 **dogbertcarroll:** It is something I try to keep in mind. Never be afraid to let a character make a mistake. For me, I admit the hardest part is letting Lincoln be wrong or make mistakes.

 **364wii:** The next chapter is right below! ;)

* * *

 _ **~The Parents~**_

The scene at the store was a madhouse, making Lynn Sr. contemplate just why the weather seemed to cause people to come out and act like idiots all over bread and milk, the bread Lynn could understand but milk? If the power went out the milk would spoil in no time. Thankfully the rain had let up, however, the clouds still swelled and threatened an encore performance.

Thankfully, the was short and he found himself out front meeting his wife, who had stopped to drop a quarter in a gumball machine. Lynn smiled at her childish action. That was one of the things that brought them together and kept their relationship solid over the years. They both had a playful and childish nature, even going as far as to sometimes wander around the playground in the park and play on the swings. Lynn considered himself a lucky man to find his soulmate and have a wonderful family with her. Despite the current developments, he loved his children deeply and counted himself among one of the most blessed fathers in the world.

"You ready to go meet the Miyamoto's?" Rita asked, pondering if she should put the gumball in now or wait for the drive to the Temple-Shrine.

"Yes, you did you get directions right?"

Rita pulled out her phone, tapped on the text icon, and showed her husband the conversation she had been having with Mrs. Miyamoto. "Right here, dear." She smiled.

"You're cute when you're putting me in my place." He leaned in and pecked her on the lips.

They walked to the van and placed the groceries on the floor directly behind their seats. Then climbed in, buckled up, and were off in the direction that Mrs. Miyamoto texted them, with Rita playing navigator.

The clouds came through with their promise as the rain started up again. It was a light drizzle, not much compared to the thorough soaking the town had endured moments ago. As they drove down Elmwood Parkway, passing an ice cream shop the family was banned from, Lynn noticed how the streets were slowly flooding. The gutters were overflowing, looking like tiny dirty urban ponds. Turning onto Meadows Ridge he careful not to cause too big a splash, soaking the random people walking the streets. He wondered how many times Lincoln had been out during the rain. He remembered a day not long ago when he came home soaking wet, and he was almost sure it had been raining. Was he forced out of the house by his sisters again? Did some inconsiderate jackass hit a puddle and drench his son? Recent events made him start to question his parenting skills.

They turned left on Ajax, passing a drug and drove straight until they came up to a gray wall that seemed to wrap around a separate community. They followed the gray wall to a large red Tori gate. Rita looked out the window as the passed underneath, then marveled at the blend of architecture, building that seemed to share an old school design with a mix of modern flair. She imagined this being a lot like what it would look like over in Japan.

They found themselves on Miyamoto street, driving slowly until they came across the house number, 717, where a young Asian man who appeared to be around Luna or Luan's age was standing under a large umbrella. He had short dark hair was dressed in khaki's and a Hawaiian shirt with white tennis shoes and wore a necklace with Asian characters on it. As they parked the van, the young man walked up to them. He approached Rita, handing her an umbrella as she opened the door.

"You must be Lincoln and Lily's, parents. I'm Skyla's brother Jin." He told them. "I would hate for you to get soaked on the way to the house, so I thought an umbrella would be a good idea."

Something about his smile and the twinkle in his eyes made him appear very trusting. Rita felt at ease in his presence. She smiled and followed him around to the other side of the car. Lynn got out and found himself under the umbrella with his wife, who snaked her arm around his waist. The two followed Jin up to the house, removed their shoes and put on slippers once inside, and again followed him into the living room.

Jin motioned for them to have a seat. "Please sit and make yourselves comfortable. My sister Akari went to get Lincoln and Lily, they are with Skyla, Kat, and my baby sister Jade, and should be with us shortly. Until then, would you like something to drink? Tea? Water?"

"Tea would be lovely," Rita said.

"I'm fine, thank you." Lynn Sr. told him.

Jin gave a smile and slight bow, then retreated to the kitchen to fetch the tea.

Rita looked around the living room it was tidy, neat a large TV stood to one side of the room. Asian artwork adorned the walls and pictures of what she assumed was family. Pictures of a pair of girls that looked like supermodels graduating what looked to be High School and then college, a man in a police uniform.

Against one wall there stood a closed cabinet set apart and above it was a shelf with what looked like a miniature building on it and a try of small food, wall scrolls hung beside it, something told the Loud Matriarch this was sacred to there hosts.

The sound of laughter and chatter could be heard coming around the corner. Lynn could make out Lincoln and Lily's voices. There was a happy tone in his voice, making Lynn wonder when the last time he heard that tone was.

"Oh hello, you must be Lincoln and Lily's, parents. I'm Akari." She said, then motioned towards her siblings. "This is Jade, and this is .."

Skyla stepped forward. "I'm Skyla, it's nice to meet you both."

Kat quickly stepped right up next to Skyla. "Kat! I mean I'm Kat. As in my name is Kat. Well, Kathrine but everyone calls me Kat."

Skyla gave a nervous smile and leaned in to whisper to her friend. "Breathe girl, calm down and breathe."

"It's nice to meet you, girls." Rita smiled, finding their behavior downright adorable. She looked to Lincoln then caught sight of Lily's arm. The bruise looked bad as it was turning a nasty looking greenish color, and soon Rita was at her daughter's side pulling the Littlest Loud into her arms. "Oh sweetie, your arm!" She looked closer seeing some sort of salve over it. "Does it hurt?"

"Not as much anymore."

Rita turned to her husband, a mixture of anger and fear on her face. "We have to do something about Lynn, her temper is getting out of hand."

"I know dear I plan to." Lynn Sr. told his wife.

"You mean you didn't ..."

Lynn Sr. held up his hand. "I was too worried about Lincoln and Lily at the moment. Then this whole damn protocol thing happened. But I do plan on dealing with Lynn."

Jin entered the room with a small cup on a plate, setting it down on the coffee table where Rita had been sitting.

"Jin, can I ask when your parents are going to join us?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"My father and Alex went to get another guest to join us. Someone to help Lincoln. My mother is ..."

"Right here."

Rita and Lynn turned to see a lovely dark-haired woman. Age had done little in the way of affecting her beauty, as there was hardly a crack or wrinkle on her face. She smiled and sat down across from them. Her eyes were like a deep blue ocean of warmth, adding to her welcoming demeanor.

"I'm Helen Miyamoto, and I welcome you to our home." She said.

"Thank you for having us, Mrs. Miyamoto." Rita offered.

"Please dear, call me Helen." She said.

Lynn's mind began to put together the connection between the name on the street and the name of the woman sitting across from them. He started to wonder. "Helen, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear."

"Your last name is Miyamoto, right? And the street is called Miyamoto." Lynn Sr. said.

"Yes. See we were the first family to move here, and because most of the people on this street are family, it sort of became our street. My husband wanted to call it Sakura Way, but we outvoted him. We thought it was nice to have the family leave its mark on our community." She smiled.

Rita could not help but find herself wishing that maybe her family could be like that. It scared her deeply that they would be leaving her one by one over the next few years. Each departure ripping away a piece of her heart in the process. It was understandable that learning about the Miyamoto's would trigger a reaction of envy.

"Helen, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you and your family?" Lynn asked, prompting the woman to nod. "Some of our daughters have put into motion a thing they call a Sister Fight Protocol, something stupid that we failed to put a stop to. Our daughter Luan has a plan to teach those girls a lesson, and we would need your help."

"Sister Fight Protocol?" Jin said.

"The less said about it the better," Lincoln added in a tone that was too much like his sister Lucy for the parent's taste.

"What would you like us to do?" Helen asked, but Lynn was pretty sure she knew was he was about to say to her.

"We would like for Lily and Lincoln to spend the night here. We are going to pretend that they are missing and let those girls worry themselves sick over it." He told her.

A smile slowly crept along the face of both Skyla and Kat. Lincoln was unsure if it was due to the plan or the fact that they would be getting him for the night. Either way, he felt a combination of fear and excitement.

Helen folded her hands and rested them against her chin, "That shouldn't be a problem, also I wanted to talk to both of you about something. My husband, Shinjiro, has something in mind to help Lincoln protect himself and Lily if your daughter Lynn ever tries to hurt her again."

Lynn Sr. felt a wave of shame wash over him. He felt like a failure of a father. The Sister Fight Protocol, Lynn attacking Lincoln and Lily. What other things had he failed at? Was Lucy cutting herself? Was Luna doing drugs? How much more could go wrong? He had to try and regain control of the situation, somehow some way.

"We have always taught Lincoln to never strike a girl... but..." He sighed, feeling the weight of his words.

"Dear?" Rita put her hand on his shoulder.

"We can't let Lynn think she can bully Lincoln whenever she feels like it." He shook his head. "This is the second time, the SECOND TIME, that she threatened him. With a bat no less. She hurt Lily, and we are damn lucky that it was not worse than it was."

"But..." Rita started to say.

"Lynn isn't the only one dear," Lynn Sr. reminded his wife. "Lori has threatened to turn him into a human pretzel, Luna threatened to hit him a few times ditto Luan. Even the twins, his younger sisters, have gotten in on the act more than once. In fact, I'm pretty sure only Leni, Lucy, and Lily haven't threatened him. My grandfather used to say, if she wants to act like a man, treat her like one." He looked up at all the women in the room, a small awkward smile curling up on his face. "No offense ladies." He added.

The girls all smiled, to show that they understood where he was coming from. Lynn was thankful for this the Loud men were lost among a sea of femininity, and with times as they were, at a great disadvantage. Or at least, that was how they felt. Which made it that much worse that Lynn Sr. was not closer with his only son. He could not remember the last time they took a fishing trip or a camping trip. Did his son even enjoy those things? Hell, they didn't even hit the bowling alley like he sometimes did with his old man.

"None taken," Helen said, "I actually agree, a lady should not be harming toddlers or threatening their brothers."

"No one should be forbidden to defend themselves, no matter the attacker's gender," Jin added.

"May I ask how old these girls are?" Helen asked.

Lynn reached into his back pocket and pulled a photo from his wallet and handed it to Helen. "It's pretty split down the middle." He said. "First we have out older girls: Lori's eighteen, Leni's sixteen, Luna and Luan are both fifteen, and Lynn's fourteen. The younger girls are Lucy she's eight, Lana and Lola just turned seven, Lisa's four and Lily over her is in her not-so-terrible twos."

Helen looked to Lincoln with caring eyes and a motherly smile. "The middle child are you?" Lincoln nodded, a small blush creeping across his cheeks. "A tough place to be. Older sisters should know better than to do this. They are supposed you, nurture you, and mentor you. It is their job to help guide you in life. Just as you should do the same for the younger ones who in turn should treat you with respect and some difference."

"I agree, Helen," Rita said. "Seeing what Lynn Jr. did to our daughter and Lincoln, well it breaks my heart and boils my blood."

"Yes, I was, pardon my language, quite pissed off," Helen added. "Seeing something like that just infuriates me, and I wholeheartedly agree with you Lynn."

Suddenly they heard the sound of the door open and close, then a voice rang out, "Tadaima!"

The Miyamoto's replied, "Okarei!"

There was a shared moment of confusion between the Louds, who exchanged puzzled glances.

Helen laughed, seeing this, and explained. "It's a Japanese thing. That is Akari's twin Ami, she just said that she was home and we welcomed her back. Even though my older children do not live with us, I still like them to think of this place as their home."

Soon they were greeted by a mirror image of Akari. Lynn and Rita knew well how it was with twins, Lola and Lana being the spitting image of each other. Of course, that was only if you could get them to dress the same. Between Lana's mud an blood, and Lola's mascara and glitter, it was very easy to tell each twin apart. Akari and Ami did not seem to have many differences in style aside from a few mild choices.

Ami looked to Lincoln, a big grin widening across her face. "OH!" She squeaked, "This must be Skyla's Koji-kun!"

"Koji-kun?" Lincoln looked around at the Miyamoto's, finding himself lost in translation.

"It means Little One." Ami quickly explained. Ami went over and kneeled in front of Lincoln, who paid close attention to her tight-fitting top and shorts. She leaned in close and hugged him, then pulled back, allowing for a close inspection of ... well, everything. "It's good to finally meet you Lincoln, you are such a cutie."

Lincoln could feel his face getting warmer as he did his best to avoid the urge for his eyes to drift into the danger zone.

"Ami, could you please stop making a literal boob out of yourself," Jin called out with a laugh.

"Hmm?" Ami looked up to her brother.

"The poor boy is nearly breaking his neck NOT to look down your shirt," Jin told her. "It's okay Lincoln, many men have failed that challenge… More than a few women as well…"

Skyla and Kat pretended to glare at Lincoln.

Ami looked down, and smiled at Lincoln who gave a nervous laugh showing his chipped tooth that made Ami suddenly appear very serious, "Lincoln, could you open your mouth a little wider please?"

Lincoln did as he was told, still keeping his eyes on the very fascinating ceiling above him.

Helen giggled, "Our Ami-chan is a dentist, and she never seems to go off duty."

"Yeah, I keep expecting her to yell at me over candy any day now," Jade added.

"I'm dedicated, but I'm not a hypocrite, just remember to brush afterward, goddess knows I eat my share of sweets… And then some." She looked closer, inspecting his chipped tooth. How long has this tooth been chipped?" Ami asked.

Lincoln remembered, knew deep in his heart that it was somehow his fault, like most things that seemed to happen to him. He wasn't sure he was willing to offer up that information at that moment though, not with all those eyes on him. He gave a nervous smile and light shook his head.

"Uh, no, no I can't say I do." He lied, getting looks from both Kat and Skyla. Less than a day and they were already able to see past his best poker face. Well, that would make things awkward in the future.

"Hmmm," Ami continued to study him. "Either way, I would like to see him soon if the parents are okay with it. I am pretty sure I can fix this."

Rita and Lynn Sr. cleared their throats to make their presence known.

Ami looked up and smiled. "Oh hi." She looked at the Loud parents. "Who're these lovely people?"

"They're Lincoln and Lily's parents!" Jin laughed.

Ami quickly shot up and ran over to them, hugging them both. "I'm happy to meet you both. I have heard nothing about you, but I bet it's all great."

Rita and Lynn Sr. smiled and exchanged looks, something about this young lady sure reminded them of Leni. It gave them a small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe Leni would be able to find her way in the world much as this woman had.

Ami looked to the side and caught a glimpse of Lily standing next to Jade. Her face lit up like she was a small child who had seen Santa Claus for the very first time. She went over knelt beside her, grinning from ear to ear.

"And just who is this little cutie?" Ami said. "My you are such a cute little bundle of adorable." Lily let out a small giggle. Ami saw her bruise and gave a small frown. "Oh my! What happened to your arm sweetie?" Ami inspected it, taking not of the coloring of the bruise. She looked back to her family who all had deep frowns on their faces.

"That's our youngest, Lily, she's the baby of the family," Rita said, getting a stern and disapproving look from Lily. "Glare all you want sweetie, but even when you're married with kids of your own, you will still be my baby."

"It's a mother thing," Helen added.

"As for the bruise, well I hate to say that her older sister did that." Lynn Sr. said. "We are going to be dealing with her."

"Good," Ami said.

"And with the tooth, well..." Rita felt a deep shame that she had not been able to fix it sooner and felt even worse when she realized that she had sort of forgotten about it. "We wanted to fix it, but it's pretty costly and we just can't afford it." She hung head low, embarrassed and ashamed that she had to admit that. "Unfortunately, our insurance considers it cosmetic so they won't cover it and my boss, Dr. Feinstein won't give us a discount."

Ami knew Dr. Feinstein well. He was a fine dentist, did some really good work. However, he also had a way of drilling into his patients' wallets as well as their mouths. She had heard a few of her colleagues say that the only thing cheap about him was when he took his friends to lunch.

"I would love to do it." She said, getting some worried looks from the Louds. "Free of charge of course."

"Sold!" Lynn Sr. blurted out.

Lincoln swallowed that mix of fear and anticipation that always seemed to become lodged in the poor boy's throat when the word "dentist" was tossed around. Just the thought of that needle and he broke out in a cold sweat, and his mind started to drift to a terrible place filled with whining sound of a drill and the sickly smell of teeth being drilled. He would rather live with tooth pain, then be offered to the altar of the dental gods.

"When can you do it?" Rita asked.

"I'm free tomorrow," Ami said, then looked down at Lincoln. "That okay with you Lincoln?"

"Umm, well, that is, see ..." Lincoln stammered, searching his brain for any sort of life raft to keep him afloat in this conversation. Dental treatment was not what he came here for. He was pretty sure if he would have seen that in the flyer he would have just called to talk to Skyla and Kat.

"Oh, don't worry Koji-kun," Ami ruffled his hair, "I'm very gentle." She smiled at him. "You won't feel a thing, I promise. And besides, you have two lovely nurses here to care for you." She winked and nodded towards Skyla and Kat. Both girls smiled and blushed, as did poor Lincoln.

Ami looked at Lily and Jade, "make that four, oh you are going to be so spoiled tomorrow."

 _ **~Lynn~**_

Lynn sat on the edge her bed, rag in hand and looking down at the trophies staring back up at her. These were the old trophies, the ones that meant something. The ones that family and friends came together to help her celebrate after securing a victory for her team. Months and years of hard work, crying, sweating, and bleeding herself to a state of perfection. All for the sound of the crowd, those cheers coming from the people that meant the most to her. All of that wrapped up in a little gold statue, to symbolize how she was the top, the cream of the crop in her world. The best of what she worked so damn hard at. Yeah, those were the old ones.

She sat back, making a dull thud that echoed and shook the wall as she rested her head against it. She closed her eyes as the thoughts of the new trophies came to mind. The ones downstairs that she let gather dust in the hopes they would one day become lost relics of a forgotten dark age in her life. Words that dug into her like hot knives cutting deep into her flesh, words like "Third Place", and "Runner Up", all burned like hot iron, branding her mind with the reminder of her failures. She had worked so hard over the years to the best at everything she did, yet she had forgotten to learn how to be okay with NOT being the best.

Deep down a part of her knew it wasn't his fault, yet that did little to nothing when it came to thrusting blame upon Corey. Almost like his coming was the fulfillment of some sort of prophecy foretold by the gods of sport and competition. Corey shows up and suddenly Royal Woods started to integrating its athletics programs. This often led to Cory and Lynn in head to head competition more times than she really cared to count.

Did it hurt? Yes. Losing to Corey hurt like her heart and soul had been ripped from her body and dragged across a dirt road of broken jagged glass. Each and every time they faced off, forced to stand there and look into those cocky eyes and the smug smile. The tension in the air always making it so hard to breathe, so hard to focus, just knowing the defeat is nipping at her heels and ready to go for the jugular.

The cherry upon that bitter sundae of disappointment was the way Corey carried himself. Not just the arrogance that twinkled in his eyes, or the twirl in those smug lips when he smiled. He had an air about him, his whole body radiated with a confidence that almost made her want to shrink back from him. A feeling more foreign to her than wearing a dress. He would strut about, his shoulders thrown back and his head held high like he owned the world and knew it. Sitting where he wanted, manspreading like he was laying claim to his territory. The complete opposite of Lincoln. No, Lincoln had been trained well, put in his place and made to understand the proper way to be around girls. The sisters all made sure to drill into him the correct way to behave. Making sure he did not end up like so many of the jerks they dated in the past. Lincoln would keep his eyes lowered, and always made sure the sisters had plenty of room, even at his own expense. Not like that damn Corey.

As much as Lynn would like to put all of her issues on Corey, as easy as that would be to give her troubles just one face, she just couldn't. Lynn's issues were a multiheaded serpent, like a hydra. The BFF's, as they referred to themselves like they somehow laid a claim to the term or something. There was the Sturgess sisters, Danyel, Olivia, and Hayley, triplets which well to do parents who helped buy their freedom more times then they were taken behind the school for trouser friendly kiss. Also in the group were the Cheal sisters, Tressie and Lucille, or Luci as she liked to be called. Only born a year apart but acted like they were twins. More popular girls with well-connected parents who managed to sweep trouble under a rug. Finally, there was Chelsea Booth, the leader and a nasty piece of work. The girl had a temper, especially when her own artistic talents were brought into question. She complained about EVERYTHING and seemed to feel like the world owed her something beyond a swift kick in the ass.

These girls and Lynn would use that term very loosely, were the bane of her existence at the moment. They tormented her to no end. Calling her names, pushing her around, and even spitting on her. Chelsea loved calling her dumb dyke, saying the only way she could get a woman to be with her would be to pay her. Lynn wanted to knock the shit out of them, just drop them in a pool of their own bitchy bloody. The only problem was that their parents had connections. She tried anything or complained to school authorities and they would have their parents bar her from every sport Royal Woods had to offer. So it was either take the ass whooping and name-calling or suffer the sidelines. For her, there was no choice.

 ** _~Luan~_**

Luan sat on Lori's bed, her oldest sister beside her. Across from them was Leni, sitting on her own bed and gripping a stuffed bear to her chest.

The past few hours had been a lot for the girls to take in. They'd learned about their brother's odd behavior, how he seemed to carry a great sadness within himself. That he kept emergency kits at friends houses in case his own family shunned him and cast him to the elements. That was a blow that hit a lot of them pretty hard. Luan could not help but sit and wonder how much she added to the growing pile of crap that was gathering in her brother's life.

She was a prankster, but looking back at it, she wondered if a more accurate word would have been bully. The things she did were not things an older sister should do to her younger siblings. For that matter, they should not have even been done by a younger sibling to an older sibling. And if she dug deeper, she would see that those actions should not have been done to anyone. Period. To put it as bluntly as Lynn would, she was a total bitch.

Sure, those jokes were not always at Lincoln's expense, she was an equal opportunity bitch after all. However, they were not currently facing the emotional backlash of their actions towards a sister. No, this was their one and only brother. He was the one in crisis and dammit they were the ones that had seemed to put him there. Or, at least that was the conclusion that Luan had come to.

Currently, Lincoln was banned from the house by the one sister who claimed to be the smartest one in the house. Luan was starting to question that supposed fact more and more given her recent actions. If she was indeed the smartest, it was only her IQ, as her emotional intelligence would be closer to someone still in diapers.

Lisa had called for a Sister Fight Protocol, something that was the brainchild of Lori. And sure blame could be put on Lori for its invention, but only by those that didn't know the history. The protocol was originally set in place when Lincoln was still in diapers and a none factor in the equation. The older girls would fight, and measures would be taken to keep them out of each other's space for a cooling off period. No one was ever mad at Lincoln around this time as he was too cute and little to cause trouble. As he got older things changed, as they often do, with Lincoln trying to put himself between them all to play peacekeeper. A noble, if not foolish, act. The Loud women were emotional creatures who could often sweep logic to the side, becoming slaves to their base instincts. When they were mad at each other they were out for blood and innocent bystanders be damned. How many times had poor Lincoln gotten caught in the crossfire? Well, obviously enough times to set up emergency kits for when he got kicked out of the house.

This time it would be different. This time she would help to set things right instead of making them worse.

"So, are we clear on what to do here?" She asked, her eyes moving from Lori to Leni and back again.

"Crystal." Lori nodded back.

"Wait, I thought her name was Luan?" Leni squeaked, scratching her head in a Leni moment of confusion.

There was a brief pause, the tension of what was to come had halted as the eldest sister and the young comedian exchanged looks, shaking their heads. At times it could be frustrating and exhausting to be caught up in a Leni moment. Though there were times they were welcomed distractions that helped lighten a somber mood.

"Are we," Leni stopped. She leaned forward and looked out the door, worried someone could be eavesdropping. She lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "Are we really doing this to all of them?" There was a hint of concern hidden in those words. "I mean, like, what if some of the sisters aren't on board with what Lisa is doing?" She looked down, worry etched on her face. "It just seems so wrong to punish them if they aren't really a part of it."

Hmm, Luan had failed to think that one through. It would be mean to punish the many for the actions of the few. They didn't need more innocents in the crossfire.

"Good point." She turned to Lori. "Any idea how we find out?"

Lori thought about the question, tapping her finger on her chin, lost deep in thought.

Luan couldn't help but think back to the last time this all happened. Luna still made a point to bitch about it more than she really should. Never mind the fact that they tossed him out of his own bedroom and barred him from both the kitchen and the bathroom. Yet still, she liked to find a way to complain about it. They really should have worked harder on that with him. Tried to work around him more, take into consideration how the whole damn thing affected him. Now that she looked at it, there was so much they had failed to communicate with him about, had anyone even explained the protocol to him? He had seemed so blindsided by it. By now every sister knew it, Bobby and Ronnie knew the protocol, as did Chaz, Benny, Rocky and all of their friends. What did that say about them if Lincoln was never told?

"We really have a lot to make up for don't we?" Luan sighed.

Lori reached over and placed her arm around her sister, drawing her in. "We have the rest of the summer to start making things right Lu, try not to worry about it." Lori looked down and smiled at her sister. "We are not going to lose him. Not on my watch."

"Lincoln is on your watch?" Leni said, a look of pure bewilderment on her face.

"I love you Leni." Lori smiled.

"Awww, I love you to Lori."

"So ..." Luan said, trying to work out the issue at hand.

"Yes, who do we bring in, and who do we keep out?" Lori repeated the question that lingered in the air. "We know for sure that Lisa, Lynn, and Luna are out."

"It's pretty much their fault, so yeah," Luan added.

Suddenly Leni's bright and beautiful eyes lit up as an idea sparked off and started a wildfire in her mind. She jumped up with a massive grin on her face and bounced about like a kid at Christmas.

"Oh, oh, I can totes figure it out!" She said with such delight it was damn near impossible not to smile at her. "I'll make up some smoothie for everyone and chat with them until I figure out who to bring in. What do you think?"

Luan and Lori shared a look that bordered on "I don't know" and "What the hell?".

"Um Leni," Luan frowned, "you aren't exactly the best at keeping secrets you know ... "

"That was the old Leni." She beamed with pride. "Besides, I have always kept that secret about how we lied about selling all of Lincoln's stuff when he pretended to be bad luck." She suddenly got a confused look on her face. "I still don't see how that was funny."

"Neither do I," Luan said. "At least, not anymore."

"You know, this might just work." Lori suddenly said. "No one is going to suspect Leni of anything other than ... well being Leni." Lori got up off the bed and began to pace, her mind working over all the various moving parts of this plan. "We just need to find some way for her to remain on track, not to slip up and spill the beans."

"Hey! I never spilled any beans!" Leni protested.

"No Leni, she means to keep the secret. To not accidentally tell everyone the plan." Luan said.

"Wait a second." An idea struck Lori like a falling star crashing from the heavens, bringing with it a simply delightful and deceitful idea. "Didn't we get Lincoln a spy kit for Christmas one year?"

"Yeah," Luan confirmed. "Think he used it a few times before we bitched him out and you took it from him. Still unclear why we bought it if we were going to do that."

"Now who's stupid?" Leni smiled.

"Knock it off." Lori snapped. "If I remember right, there was a listening device in there with a microphone. We could but one end in Leni's ear, and help guide her through her investigation."

Luan smiled. "Wow, that is pretty sneaky sis."

"Comes with the territory of being the oldest." Lori smiled.

 ** _~The Parents~_**

Once again, the sound of the door opening and shutting, followed shortly by a voice, this time male.

"Tadaima!"

"Okaeri!" Came the replies from the rest of the Miyamoto's.

Jade smiled, looking at Lincoln and Lily. "You two had better be paying attention, we expect you both to learn this."

Lincoln laughed, "well I guess I will have a lot of opportunities to learn Japanese."

"You better believe it, mister," Kat said.

"Say something in Japanese Kat," Skyla smirked, getting a dirty glance from her friend. "Uh huh, the one subject you seem to be failing in."

"Keep it up and I will show Lincoln that video of you learning to ballroom dance with the stuffed monkey," Kat said.

"Two words: Kat. Dance." Skyla smirked back.

"You are so evil," Kat told her, lowering her head in defeat.

"So I've been told," Skyla responded.

Mr. Miyamoto entered the room, followed by a young man who shared a similarity to Jin and the man who was obviously his father. The young man stayed a little back, walking behind the head of the household.

"Hello, I am Shinjiro Miyamoto, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Shinjiro said, "this is my son Alex."

"Hello," Alex said.

"So, before we get started here, let's all have a seat. Our other guest will be here shortly, he is just removing his shoes." Shinjiro said, motioning for them to have a seat.

They all sat down, scattered among the various sitting places in the living room. The couch had seemed to go to Lynn Sr., Rita, Lily, and of course Lincoln and the two girls who looked at him with cartoon hearts in their eyes.

It wasn't long that they waited, their guest soon making his way down the hall and into the living room. His shaggy dark hair bouncing as he walked, an all too familiar grin plastered on his face. He hiked up his jeans and sat across from Lincoln.

"So, lad, I hear ya are having trouble with a certain lass." Corey MacMillan said. 

* * *

**There you have it good readers! Hoping to have the next chapter out before Christmas!**


	9. Dental Pain

**Welcome back everyone! Originally this chapter was going to be even longer but we decided to split it up due to length and wanting to get it to everyone soon. On to the reviews!**

 **Mike the Red Engine : You're most welcome! Hope you love what we do to... I mean with him... -eyes dart back and forth-**

 **jster1983 : Good catch! We already had this worked out.**

 **DreadedCandiru2 : Fun fact we actually had this planned out before Middle Men this season has been weird given other thinks like how I created Skyla in November 2017 and then Stella appears. Two Asian girls with similar sounding names, have had a few people think Skyla is a Stella rip off for that reason, even if mine was before both White Hare and Stella's naming and redesign.**

 **MrNonesense : Cover art is by Petrus-C-Visagie.**

 **Samtastic 3.0 : You hit the nail on the head and yes we are going to see more Sister vs. Lincoln and other issues the show brings up but never wants to address.**

 **SpartanXHunterX : Oh trust me we already have several sequels planned. **

**On a side note I am beyond happy at how much the Miyamoto family is being received. Expect more of them.**

 _Legal Stuff_ **: Loud House is owned by Nickelodeon.**

 **Skyla, the Miyamoto family and Temple-Shrine are my own creations.**

 **Corey MacMillan is the creation of Mike the Red Engine.**

* * *

 _ **~*~*~Lincoln~*~*~*~**_

If Kat or Skyla would have asked for a list of unlikely suspects Lincoln would not expect to see walk into the Miyamoto house, it would include a number of celebrates, and perhaps a mythical creature or two. Tea with the Loch Ness Monster? Maybe root beer and pizza with Bigfoot? Yeah, that might have come to mind long before the thought of Corey Macmillan walking through the front door. Still, he could not say it was an unwelcome surprise. Their brief encounter in the past seemed decent enough, and Corey certainly did not look like the kind of kid who a jerk at all. Even if he was just being polite at the time, Lincoln had enjoyed their conversation.

"Yeah," Lincoln looked over at Alex and smiled as the older boy let a blushing Lily sit in his lap, "guessing they told you everything?"

"Aye, the young lass in Alex's arms Lily then?"

"Nope," Lincoln grinned, "it's the other little girl see the resemblance."

Lynn Sr frowned and was about to chastise Lincoln for such an insensitive joke when Corey and several of the Miyamotos let out a laugh at his son's joke, making the Loud Patriarch wonder why there was such a knee jerk reaction to discipline his son?

"Good to see you have a sense of humor Koji-kun," Skyla placed an arm around the boy, "I was starting to worry I'd have to give you a grumpictomy."

Kat quickly took her spot on the other side of Lincoln, snaking her arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. She wanted to make a joke, say something about how it was great to know that his sense of humor was still intact. For some reason, she found it hard to make a joke at that moment. Her brain felt like mush, like she had spent the day tossing popcorn in her mouth and binge-watching whatever was next in her queue on Netflix. Each thought she had was like walking through hip-high mud.

Lincoln blushed at the girls as Corey went over to Lily and knelt down looking at her arm, "Lynn did this to you did she?" he let out a sigh, "and here I LIKED the girl, but this…" he shook his head. He did like her. A lot. Hell, he had spent the better part of the past few years trying to get the girls attention, but after this? Well, he began to wonder if he would ever be able to stomach even the sight of her again. "This is just disgusting. Wait till Marcus hears about this, he's libel to knock her block clean off come next match." The Scottish boy ruffled Lily's hair getting a giggle from the littlest Loud then returned to the table and smiled at Lincoln. "Not one but two lasses on your arm eh?"

"I'm still not sure what's going on myself… But I think I like it…" Skyla never did answer his question about what they were. He'd need to ask her again later.

Corey flashed a grin. "Don't blame you one bit, enjoy it. Skyla and Kat are good ladies, they'll be good to you. They've talked about you on and off for a long time now." Corey's words made Lincoln do a double take. He'd only just met them a little while ago, like last week. Why would they have been talking about him for a while? His look of confusion must have been transparent as the girls stepped in.

"Not surprised you don't remember," Kat told him, getting a nod from Skyla.

"Okay," Lincoln looked to both girls. "Now I want to hear the story."

"Not much to tell really," Kat said, "I had just transferred from New Horizon's Academy to Royal Woods Elementary. I was lost, again, which still sort of baffles me, I mean it's such a small school." Kat said with a blush.

"A lot easier to do than you realize," Lincoln told her. "The layout of the building makes things really confusing. I mean my little sister Lucy's homeroom is to the left just as you walk in. In most schools across the country, that would be an office."

Lincoln had remembered getting lost a few times, taking a turn where he should have gone straight. The building was like a large maze with shiny floors and metal lockers. Each nook and cranny held a secret of danger, there were bullies in that school, as there were among many schools across the world. Those bullies had places they liked to hide out in, like their own territory. He had wandered to close to one of those territories before, getting his block knocked off.

"For the life of me, I'll never understand that reasoning," Lynn Sr. cut in, "You find the office all the way past the Kindergarten." He shook his head. "Just makes no sense to me."

"Bureaucracy," Shinjiro said, "when has Bureaucracy ever really made sense?" This got a chuckle from the adults and older teens.

Mr. Miyamoto nodded for Kat to continue her story, getting a smile from the young girl.

"I was lost and bumped into Lincoln, who pointed me in the right direction. He helped me again a few other times and I started to get a small crush." Kat explained.

"I have about the same story," Skyla chimed in, "he helped me find my missing necklace."

Lily spoke up, "so if I might ask: Why didn't either of you become friends with Dearest Brother then?"

Kat and Skyla exchanged glances and began to blush.

"Well .." Kat spoke up. "I was going to, but then that girl guru business happened. Wish I knew the girls had stolen your chocolate for the pies and you had acted out of desperation."

"Wait, you mean to tell me the girls ate all of that chocolate?" Rita looked to Lincoln. "Like ALL of it?"

"Every. Last. Bit." Lincoln spat.

"And they never bloody well paid him back for it," Lily added crossing her arms.

Lynn Sr. pinched the bridge of his nose, just more to bring up. It was too late to punish the girls now, but the could still talk to them about all of this. They had to realize what they were doing to their brother. At least it seemed as if Lori was starting to come around and see things as they were.

"Sorry Lincoln, but I will talk to them and I'll pay you back for the chocolate." Lynn Sr. told his son.

"Thanks, Dad, but you don't have…"

"No son," Lynn Sr. waved his sons comments off, "your mother and I have let this go on for far too long. It's time we put our foot down. We've not done right by you or the girls." His father sighed.

"Pardon me Dearest Father, but how have you done wrong by the rest of us?"

Lynn Sr. smiled at his youngest daughter. He felt a swelling pride in his chest, as well as the dull ache of a father who had missed out on much with his family. He could not say how Lily had started to become the young girl she was becoming, work had taken him from his family far too often. He wondered if Lori was really more of a parent to the younger kids than he and his wife were. Their systems may have been flawed, but at least they were there, could he really say the same on his own behalf?

"We put far too much on to Lori to raise all of you," He told his daughter. "That wasn't her job, that was ours, even if work takes us away a lot, we still should have made time. In addition, it seems we've let many of your sisters get away with murder when it comes to Lincoln, just think of what would happen if they tried something like this with a boy outside of our house, not to mention any sons they end up having."

"I beg your pardon," Shinjiro spoke up, "just so I can understand the whole situation here. Lori's the oldest correct?" Lynn Sr. nodded. "Aren't some of the other girls close to her age, or at least old enough to bear some responsibility?"

Rita let out a labored sigh. The kind of sigh a mother with too much on her hands would release as if that single breath would somehow relive the amounts of stress and pressure weighing her down. "Leni's our second oldest." There was a pause as she collected her thoughts, searching for the worlds to describe their daughter. "She is sweet, but she lacks… well..."

Alex leaned over and put his hand over Rita's, giving her a comforting smile. "Form what Lilly's told me, Leni's a lot like me at my most ditzy." There was a look of concern on Lily's face as if she had spilled some sort of dark secret her family tried to keep hidden. "Don't worry Lily I'm sure your family understands," Alex hugged the little girl making her blush brighter.

Both Lynn Sr. and Rita smiled at their daughter, to reassure her that things were indeed okay.

"Lily told me about her sister after I started for the house and this tree just jumped out in front of me." He let out a laugh.

"Alex!" Both Akari and Ami cried, reaching their brother's side in a manner of seconds, checking him for injuries, which just made the young man laugh more. He loved the attention that his family gave him, as they were both supportive and concerned about his daily actions, even if they overdid it.

"I'm fine girls, honest," He smiled at them. "It all worked out well for me, as it often does." The squirrel from earlier jumped for his front shirt pocket and climbed up to his shoulder, twitching its nose as it sniffed the air around the girls. "See? Even made a new friend. Named him Bob."

Rita thought for a second, she recognized the squirrel from her time doing community service, she started to say something when Shinjiro spoked up, "Okay everyone, we're getting off topic here." The Miyamoto Patriarch's words made the squirrel look in his direction then climb back down into Alex's front pocket.

"Please continue your story Skyla, this seems pertinent to the rest of this discussion," Shinjiro told her.

Skyla nodded, telling them about how she had been helped a few times by Lincoln around the school. Simple things like where the bathrooms could be located and shortcuts to get to class or the lunchroom. His kindness and sincerity drew her affection towards him almost immediately. She had wanted to approach him and confess her feelings but was pushed away by the rumors about him and Ronnie Anne being an item. Rumors that had seemed to start from his own sisters. Why they were so determined to pair him up with a girl who bullied him was beyond her.

"Did you ever even like that girl?" Kat asked.

Lincoln thought about it for a moment. It was a complicated answer. Were there feelings towards Ronnie Anne beyond just friendship? Yeah. At one point there were. He could not deny the fact that their kiss at the restaurant was magical. And even though she hit him the next day at school, he knew that was only because he wanted to avoid the teasing. Though he was pretty sure there was a better way to deal with that. Still, she did it for him. Perhaps if the bully routine had ended after they started to hang out more, if she had put more effort into trying to be his girlfriend instead of the girl that knocked him around and kissed his boo boo. Maybe if things were different they could have been more than friends. However, life didn't work like that, and here he was.

"For a little while yes, but things like the Sloppy Joe down my pants … well, I get bullied enough at home. Really don't need it with a girlfriend as well." His voice was filled with a sadness that a little boy should not have to carry with him, it tugged at the heartstrings of those who listened

Rita found her self annoyed with her daughters' actions, spreading rumors and trying to play matchmaker for their brother. Their actions had nearly cost him the chance to be with one of these wonderful girls, all for someone who was just a little thug. Thankfully fate had a way of working its way around obstacles, and he was now getting the chance to get to know them.

"So, before we move on to whatever is coming up next," Lincoln said. "can I ask one question?"

"You just did," Kat said, getting a frown from those around her. "What? Did humor just suddenly die around here?"

"If it did, you killed it, Kitty," Skyla smirked, getting a playful slap from her friend.

"Go ahead Lincoln, ask your question," Shinjiro said, smiling at the banter between the two girls.

"Why didn't you tell me all of this at Burpin' Burger?"

Both girls looked at each other, neither one really knowing what to say. It was a good question. A damn good question really.

"Hmm, I'd guess it was because we were both just taken off guard by everything that had happened. We weren't thinking of the past and our feelings at that moment, at least not where they came from." Skyla said.

"Yeah, and we figured we would have time to tell you later, but things kept getting piled on, what with the family drama playing out and all," Kat added.

"Lack of focus is something that troubles us all, I would say it's something you will grow out of, but it happens to the best of us." Shinjiro smiled.

"And the rest of us." Lynn Sr. added, with a smile of his own and a slight nod to his new friend.

"Well said Lynn, if I may call you that?" Getting a nod Shinjiro continued, "so we know why Leni can't help Lori more, but what of your other daughters?"

Rita wondered why they were being so open with their family's issues and concerns. They had just met this family, yet things felt as their relationship went back to their college days or something. It was if they were all just old friends having lunch together and catching up.

"Well," Lynn Sr. started, "Luna is our third eldest daughter. The problem and I hate using that word, is that she is often lost in her music and her dream of being a rockstar."

"Sometimes I worry that she is falling into drugs, but haven't seen any warning signs yet, other than being out really late," Rita added. "But with the local music scene, and most of the concerts taking place in bars or pubs, … " She sighed.

"Have you considered imposing a new rule?" Helen spoke up. "Say, anyone who is out to late has to take a drug taste when they get home. It's the rule here."

Rita nodded, liking the idea instantly. It would be more for Luna, but it could appear as it is for anyone caught out late.

"Even if she did remove her head from the clouds sometimes, she had not proven herself to be the most reliable of the girls." Lynn Sr. stated. "The few times she was left in charge she let her younger siblings do whatever they wanted, and the house was a mess."

"I don't remember that," Lily said.

"Because you weren't born yet honey," Rita told her.

"Was that when Lori was out of town for that Golf tournament and I spent the night at Clyde's?" Lincoln asked, getting a nod from his father.

"We grounded everyone except Leni, seeing as how she was in her room the whole time trying to work on a puzzle." Lynn Sr. said. "I remember Leni felt bad that she didn't get in trouble either like we were showing her preferential treatment. It was the last time we left Luna in charge, turned out she spent the whole time sexting a girl she'd just meet."

"As for Luan .. well." She looked to Lincoln and Lily, "Promise you will both keep this to yourselves for now."

Lincoln nodded, as did Lily, both beyond curious as to what secret their mother was about to spill. There was a mild bit of excitement that built up within them both, like being able to sit at the grown-up table. It was the feeling that their parents were not looking at them as children right now, no they were part of the adult conversation.

"Luan our fourth oldest, suffers from a rare form of brain damage," Rita said, looking at the shocked expressions on the faces of her children. "She was born premature, but for the most part, she is a normal, happy girl. However, as a result of the damage, she has a literal addiction to humor. I'm ashamed to say we let her get away with murder every April Fool's day. Pranksgiving as she calls it."

"It's he… heck on Earth I tell you." Lily told the room.

"In this context Lily, I'd let you say hell," Rita told her daughter.

"Sir, if I may ask," Corey spoke up, "Why are you telling everyone here this bit of information, as I suspect you haven't even told the lass herself yet?"

"We kept it a secret from Luan because we didn't want her to feel different, out of place or anything. We wanted her to grow up thinking she was just a normal girl, and we have seen news like this turn a child's life upside down." Lynn Sr. responded.

"We kept it from the others because even our oldest children have issues keeping secrets," Rita added.

Lincoln was not surprised, even he had the misfortune of spilling a few secrets from time to time. Of course, he always got the disappointed look from the girls, despite them doing the same thing.

"We certainly understand," Akari said, "But you may have to tell her at some point, as it seems to be affecting the lives of those around her."

Both the Loud parents nodded in agreement.

"And well Lynn seems to speak for herself I dare say," Helen said.

"A tall order to fix indeed, but if you'll have it we can help," Shinjiro said. "That's why we brought Corey here to help Lincoln deal with Lynn using him and his sister as her personal punching bags" He nodded to the Scottish boy.

"Aye, seems the Lass is outta control, but that's where I come in." He flashed that trademark smirk. "Ahm an expert at knocking Lynn on her rear end. Ye give me a few weeks and she won't be able to touch you." Lincoln smiled at this. "Heck lad come to my dojo, maybe in a few years, you can even beat her at the tournament. Sooner if ye have any experience."

"Well, I did spend some time at Rising Sun, but well, it's…" Lincoln blushed.

"A black belt factory? Aye it is, but you might have picked up a few things, maybe even learned something from Lynn, once overheard her saying she loves sparing with you."

"Well," Lincoln sighed, "I wouldn't call it sparing. But yeah mom and dad made me practice," he air quoted, "with her. Mostly I stand there, and she pounds on me."

"So, she ever she you how to throw a punch? Any holds or moves?" Corey asked.

"Yes and no. She used moves and punches on me but never showed me how to use them," Lincoln replied. He rubbed his shoulder, a spot where she had put a beating on him a few weeks ago.

"So basically, just smacking you around eh? Family sanctioned bullying in other words," Corey thought for a second, "Shinjiro-sama?"

Lynn Sr. didn't like the fact that Corey called it "Family sanctioned" as if they just gave the okay for their daughter to beat up their only son. However, they didn't really step in either. Though they had no idea just how bad it was, maybe if Lincoln or one of the girls had come to them, they would have stepped in, but of course, that was all just hypothetical now.

"Yes, Corey?"

"You still got that sparing room set up in that one guest house aye?"

"That I do my boy."

"Lincoln, you'll love this part. We are going over there, and you are gonna get to wail on me with everything you got. Then we can see about teaching ya to defend yourself better and if your parents are okay with it get ya started at my dojo."

"Corey, I don't know if we can afford…" Lincoln started but his father cut him off.

"We keep money set aside for this sort of thing Lincoln and really your mother and I would like to see you out of the house more. We worry you shut yourself up too much, one reason we agreed to let Lily room with you, didn't want you playing video games all day."

"He doesn't play nearly as much as everyone thinks Father Dearest, don't believe me as for Dr. Loud's security tapes." Lily half spat, to say Lily had issues with Lisa would be like saying the sky was blue.

"She turned those cameras back on? After we told her to stop?" Rita pinched her nose.

"Her argument is they are different cameras," Lincoln explained, "after a while, we just got tired of it."

"Lynn, we have a lot to fix…" Rita looked at her husband.

"We do, but one step at a time." Lynn smiled.

"A healthy attitude to have," Akari said.

"Lynn? Rita? Why not come with us while Lincoln and Corey do their thing? We can get the paperwork out of the way for Lincoln's appointment tomorrow and I think my twin wanted a word with you." Ami motioned for the door. The reminder of dental work made Lincoln pale.

 ** _~*~*~*~Lynn Sr and Rita~*~*~*~_**

As they left the Miyamoto household Rita's mind drifted to her only son. She'd always wanted a boy and knew that Lynn had wanted one as well. They were so overwhelmed with joy on the day that Lincoln was born. Though she soon realized how lonely it was going to be, to a certain point, for the only boy in a sea of girls. She had wanted to give Lincoln a little brother, yet that simply had not been fates plan for her family. A part of her had hoped that maybe she could find a brother outside of the family, perhaps with this Corey boy, or even Alex and his brothers.

With the twins leading the way, they followed, walking two houses down before entering the gate to another home. Ami saw the confusion on their faces spoke up.

"It's quicker getting to my office if we go out my back gate. Akari lives next door on my left and Rurik our eldest brother on the right, our second eldest brother Haruto lives across the street." She told them.

Rita looked to her husband, both sharing a smile as they thought the same thing, hoping that when the time came their children wouldn't all move far away. Maybe Lincoln would marry Skyla and like her sisters and brothers live here, close to home so they could visit on Sundays for a nice family dinner. A parent could certainly dream.

They cut into Amis backyard, which looked like what Rita would imagine a Japanese park may look like, yet smaller. Cherry trees scattered about, providing shade for a few benches just off a stone path that snaked around the backyard.

They came to a back gate, which let out into a small park, which shared some similarities to the backyard they came from. The same trees scattered about, along with others that neither Rita nor Lynn could identify. The same stone path winded around the park, though much larger than the narrow one that was found in the backyard they came from. Lynn Sr. noticed a sign that encouraged adults playing on the equipment after dark, as long as they kept it down.

"That's an odd sign." Lynn Sr. mused.

"Yes, sometimes at night my siblings and I play on the swings," Ami said. "It was installed at our Father's insistence. It seemed a few outsiders had a fit over us using the park."

"They still complain form time to time," Akari added, rolling her eyes.

"Outsiders?" Rita asked.

"Yes, all are welcomed to visit Temple-Shrine, originally you needed permission to move in here," Akari explained. "It was open to all as long as they professed belief in one of the religions calling our community home. These days by law everyone is welcome," Akari sighed, "for better or worse."

"Better or worse?" Lynn looked at their hosts.

"Some folks move here and become a real boon to the community, they fit in as if they've always lived in or around here," Akari explained, "others," she hesitated, "others seem to just want to start trouble. Try to make us out to be racist or bigots so they can get their fifteen minutes of fame and sue the community to get rich quick. So far those attempts have failed."

"Recently," Ami picked up where her twin left off, "there has been talk of turning this into a gated community. Literally, hiring guards and everything and closing the area off to non-guests and non-residents after dark."

"Has it gotten that bad?" Lynn Sr. asked.

Akari smiled at Lynn Sr. "not yet, but some worry about it. Then, of course, you have Christians and Atheists wanting to see an end of our community. The Christians because of the Eastern faiths and the European Polytheists that are central here. The Atheists want us gone because a community with religion as it centerpiece offends them by its very existence. They see us as a violation of the constitution. They quote the first amendment like our Buddhist residents chant mantras or Catholics pray the rosary. Never mind we are a religious community and are not stopping anyone else from practicing. As long as you leave us alone to worship, I don't care if you worship no gods, one god or a billion."

They came to the edge of the park. Ami and Akari looked at their guests and smiled.

"So, this is where we part ways," Ami said, she looked to the left and nodded across the street. "My office is across the street there." She told Rita.

"And mine is down the block," Akari said, pointing further down the street.

"Must be nice working so close as well," Rita said.

"It is, we often meet at that teashop over there for lunch." Ami said, pointing at a small shop with a banner sign that said, 'Lucky Star Tea.'

"Sometimes our family joins us," Akari pointed out.

Lynn Sr. looked at his lovely wife and smiled at her. He went over and kissed, gently on the lips. "I'll see you in a bit sweetheart."

"Not complaining, but what was that for?" Rita said in a dreamy voice.

"To assure you that I am not going to run off with our lovely host." He smiled. "I only have eyes for you."

 _ **~*~*~*~Rita~*~*~*~**_

Ami's office was a small single-story building with an honest to goodness Koi pond out front and a couple of benches. Ami told her it wasn't unusual for patients or parents of patients to wait outside either for their children or for their turn in the chair. Rita could see why she wouldn't mind sitting by the pond herself.

They entered the building, and Rita instantly noticed the typical layout of most Dentist offices. A TV hung silently on the wall looking more like some odd pop art piece than an actual television. There was the receptionist's desk, which was unmanned at the moment, and some waiting chairs. The chairs were those ones with metal frame and the soft blue cushion on the seat and back. Dr. Feinstein had the chance to get those but opted for the hardwood ones, which were both cheaper and matched the other cheap furniture in the office. The magazines and newspapers being up to date was a surprise. There was also a play area for children and an aquarium with exotic fish. Looking around Rita saw another one of those small shrine buildings on a high shelf like in Shinjiro and Helen's place, a cute ceramic cat with a paw raised and above the entrance to the treatment areas a pair of statues.

"The aquarium helps keep my patients calm, especially the little ones," Ami told Rita seeing her attention drawn to the fish, "come." Ami led Rita past the reception desk, which had modern computers for filing, unlike the shelves that sat behind the desk at Dr. Feinstein's office. How many patients had slipped through the cracks because they lost a file?

The treatment rooms were arranged in a circle, the equipment was some of the most advanced Rita had seen, all of its top of the line. Dr. Feinstein preferred to use gear until it was falling apart, and even then duct tape was pretty handy in the office. Being a bit of a grease monkey like her husband and daughter Lana she understood the uses of duct tape, but not in a medical setting.

"I try to update everything every couple of years," Ami told Rita, "I especially like our new chairs. Designed to be comfortable for the patients and ease for us to work on them. When I was younger my first dentist had this chair that always left me with a neck ache after he was done," she smiled, "always lead to a headache."

As the tour continued, something that Rita had noticed was how each room had its own anesthesia system. Both nasal and full-face masks, it was unusual and something about it unnerved Rita a little, she had nothing against the use of gas in dentistry but this seemed a more than a bit excessive than she was used to. Though now to think of it, she had gassed Lori simply for talking too much during an appointment and really any chatty patient, or overly nervous patient.

Ami turned and smiled at Rita following her gaze, "yes we do use gas a lot in this office. Not only a good money maker but it attracts a lot of patients who normally wouldn't come to a dentist. On a personal note, I cannot stand a single one of my patients being in pain, or anyone really. The more painless and pleasant I can make my office the better."

Rita noticed the kind and caring tone in the young woman's voice, like a mother trying to protect her children for the harsh elements of a cold world. This was something that she could identify with, as well as respect.

They entered Ami's office, a decent sized room with large windows that looked out into a small garden. From a tree hung a bird feeder, which seemed to attract many different birds that fluttered about and chirped and sang.

The office was painted a soft lemon color, which gave it a very warm and inviting feeling the moment Rita stepped in. Ami motioned her to have a seat in front of the gray and black desk that Ami walked around, sitting in a large leather office chair. Rita looked around, seeing pictures of family and what she took to be her friends, all lining the walls. Aside from the pictures, also hung on the walls were here qualifications.

Ami pulled a drawer on her desk, reaching in and taking out some paperwork. She placed it on the desk and slid it over to Rita for review.

"Just the usual forms to fill out," She smiled at the older woman. "Also, would you mind if I used gas on Lincoln? He seems to be freaking out over the visit."

"If you can talk him into it, after the first time he seemed to be against its use. Never could figure out why. The first time he said it was the best thing to come from having to have his tooth removed…" Rita paused as she began to wonder, not for the first time, his reasons behind the sudden change in attitude towards sedation. "I'm starting to wonder if maybe my girls have something to do with that," she let out a sigh, wondering how much more damage they would be responsible for.

Ami reached over and laid a hand on Rita's and smiled, "I'll take care of him and I'm sure you'll get through this, so while I have you here any chance, I could talk you into coming in say Tuesday for an interview? I know Dr. Feinstein is going to retire in the next few years so why not take up a new job? I can assure you I pay better."

"I'd like that," Rita smiled back.

 ** _~*~*~*~Lincoln~*~*~*~_**

Lincoln leaned over and grabbed his knees gasping for breath. He'd wailed on Corey with everything he'd learned at Rising Sun and from Lynn. As far as the preteen was concerned, he sucked, he was waiting for the Scottish Black Belt to tell him he was hopeless and beyond the point of being trainable when a bottle of cold water was handed to him. He twisted the cap and sucked down the cold liquid like a man who had spent weeks in a hot desert.

"I'm impressed lad," Corey said through his thick accent. "Not the best I've ever seen but it's clear you picked up some good stuff." He took a seat next to Lincoln, who had finally given in to his wobbling legs. "If you really hammer down you could compete as a black belt in the tournament this year. Wouldn't that put Lynn in her place to lay her flat out and win first place?"

Corey's words burrowed into the young boy's brain. Beat Lynn? Was that even possible? Well if anyone knew it was the man sitting next to him.

"Are sure I am good enough for that?" Lincoln asked, doubts still cluttering his mind and holding back his own self-esteem.

"I wouldn't lie to ya lad," Corey said, slapping him on the back in a friendly gesture. "If ya really sucked, I would ya." He flashed that smile that Lincoln knew got Lynn's blood boiling.

Lincoln looked at Corey, his mind and his heart on opposite sides of this argument. It was his gut that settled it, telling him to trust the young man and take the help.

"It's a deal! When do I start?"

Corey got to his feet, helping Lincoln to his. "We can start up this coming weekend, I'll talk to Takaoka Sensei, he's the best. Strict, but the best." He said.

Corey stuck out his hand to Lincoln, who took it and they shook on the deal. Corey's cellphone rang.

"Excuse me lad, important call and such," Corey said, stepping away.

As he did, soon Skyla and Kat and moved in on their territory.

"Koji-kun you were great!"

"I think Lynn is in for a shock Snowflake!"

Both girls embraced the boy who returned their affections, he could get used to this.

Corey returned. "I gotta head out, good meeting you again Linc, we are gonna have some fun the next few weekends, get ready, now I'll be hitting back." He grinned.

Lincoln felt a surprising sense of sadness as the Scottish boy left. He had not known Corey all that well, yet he felt a connection as if they were on the verge of a friendship that would help define who Lincoln would come to see himself as.

"Come on, let's head back in," Skyla said, leading Kat and Lincoln back to the house.

When they entered, they found Lincoln's parents standing with the twins, in the middle of a conversation that quickly ended once Lincoln had arrived.

"Good, we wanted to see you before we took off," Rita said.

"You guys are leaving so soon?" Lincoln walked over and embraced his mother.

"Yeah, we have to get back before your sisters burn the house down, and we really need to talk to them." Lynn Sr. said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wad of bills, handing them to his son. "Have fun with your friends, and make sure to keep an eye on Lily, why not let your lady friends take you clothes shopping, I'll leave your cut of the clothing fund with Shinjiro and Helen.

They hugged their children then headed for the van.

"You think Lincoln knows both girls are interesting him?" Rita asked her husband.

"Maybe," Lynn Sr. said. "Though I wonder if he knows that Skyla is interested in a polyamorous relationship and seems to have Kat on board. Reminds me a lot of Uncle William. Maybe I should tell Lincoln about him sometime."

 ** _~*~*~*~Lincoln, Skyla, and Kat~*~*~*~_**

Lincoln soon found himself back in the guest house with Kat and Sklya. They were all sprawled out on the floor and looking up at the ceiling. The young boy's mind was filled with images of his upcoming dentist appointment with Ami. The butterflies in his stomach had suddenly gotten much bigger and much more violent, as he stomach growled and gurgled.

"Hungry little one?" Skyla asked.

"Hmm, we never did order that food." Kat pondered.

"We should order it now, I doubt you will be up for it tomorrow after Ami is done and all," Skyla said. She turned to noticed that Lincoln was now sitting upright and looked very pale. "Lincoln?"

Both girls sat up and scooted over to Lincoln, checking on him. His eyes had that far away look like something was grabbing his attention for just beyond the moment. Something reaching out from the past and snatching his full attention.

 _ **~*~*~Three years ago. Lincoln: Age Nine~*~*~**_

The front door clicked and creaked open, Rita Loud and her young son Lincoln entering the house. Lincoln held his palm to his cheek, still a bit numb, yet there was a low dull throbbing coming from where he knew the drill had been about forty minutes earlier.

"Okay honey, head on upstairs and lay down," Rita said, her hand on his should. "I'll be up a little later to see if you want to try some broth or something."

Lincoln nodded and stumbled up to the room he once shared with Lynn and Lucy. He gripped the railing, his head still a bit loopy from the gas he had been given earlier. Stuff was a godsend, making the appointment more endurable. As he continued his way towards the room, he noticed a familiar dark form come from shadows and wrap her arms around his waist.

"Feeling better?" Lucy looked up at him, brushing the bangs from her face, a pair of piercing blue eyes stared back at him.

"Yeah Spooky," Lincoln smiled at her. "Still a little out of it. Dr. Feinstein gave me gas for this." The sentence had not lingered long in the air before he heard a mocking laugh come from behind him.

Lincoln turned around to see his older sister, Luan, standing in the hall. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore a yellow dress with pink knee-high socks. Dangling from her hand was a Yo-Yo, which she was trying to get to work, it's lack of doing so caused her face to scrunch and distort into a look of frustration. The look softened to one of devilish mischief once she looked upon her brother in his discomfort from his dental visit.

"What's the matter?" She mocked, "Lil' Lincy couldn't take it like a man?" Luan's grin was cold, like a serial killer staring down her victim. In this case a serial prankster. "And here I thought you were a boy. HA! Gas I was wrong!" She laughed at her own joke, something Lincoln often wondered about.

Lucy led Lincoln to her room but a fist slammed into the door frame, the arm it was connected to barring Lincoln's path. The first and arm belonged to Lynn who was propped up against the door frame to her and Lucy's room. She was eating an apple, slowly biting and chewing as she looked at Lincoln.

"Where do you think YOU are going, mister? This isn't your room anymore." She nodded to the converted closet.

"Come on Linc, I'll stay with you tonight." Lucy let Lincoln lean on her as she led him away from the older girls. The twins and even little Lisa had come from their rooms at the commotion and gathered around their big brother.

"What, seriously?" Luan's tone had a touch of hurt as if she were surprised that her younger sisters seemed to be taking his side. "You're a wuss!" She looked at Lincoln, a cold grin spread across her face. "You are supposed to be a man, but you need to be protected by you're little sisters. Heh, guess you are a girl after all."

The commotion soon attracted the other girls, like sharks drawn to blood, soon it was a teasing frenzy. They mocked Lincoln, calling him a sissy, a pansy, and a lot of other names. The younger girls clung closer to Lincoln as he closed the door, terrified of what they'd just seen.

Lucy clung to her brother, as the twins braced locked the door, a look of fear etched on her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

 _ **~*~*~*~Present Day Lincoln~*~*~*~**_

The girls looked on in horror after Lincoln had finished telling his tale. He left out a sigh, wondering about his sisters. He didn't understand what he did to deserve all of that. The feelings bubbling up in him were complicated, to say the least. He loved his sisters, even when they were acting the way they did. They were family, but he wondered if they loved him. There were moments it seemed like they did, and then there were a lot more moments when they seemed to treat him more like an object than a real person.

"They did what!?" Kat yelled, "every time I think I've heard it all something else comes along!"

"How ironic," Lily had her arms crossed and a severe look on her face, "I know Luan and the rest of our sisters get gas for dental work, a few even for cleanings. Bloody sexist sisters."

"Sorry girls didn't know I was speaking out loud. Also, Lily, the girls can't be sexist…" Lincoln started to repeat the lesson the girls had drilled into him, girls cannot be sexist against men, because sexism requires privilege and power and girls have neither.

"Why not?" Skyla interrupted, "because they're girls? Who told you… Wait of course they'd teach you that…" Skyla sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "it's a miracle you haven't turned into a first-rate misogynist."

"Look, I get that they can be .." Lincoln started to say.

"Total bitches?" Kat added, getting a look from Lincoln.

"Let's go with brats." Lincoln smiled. "But they are not all bad. I refuse to think that they are just terrible people who … who don't love me."

Kat and Skyla joined Lily by his side. Skyla put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"No one is saying they are terrible people," Kat told.

"But they have and still are mistreating you and need to relearn how to love you," Skyla said. "You had a lot of strong bonds with them at one point, I can tell because there is still love in your voice when you mention them. But there is also a lot of hurt, a lot of pain. Those bonds are cracked, and it's going to take time to repair them."

Lincoln found himself enveloped in a warm embrace, two girls that seemed to love him, and one little sister that he knew for a fact did. He felt safe with them, wanted and cared for. It was a feeling that he did not know how much he missed until it was slowly working its way back into his life.

"Anyway, enough of them, tomorrow Ami is treating you, and then we are going to care for you," Skyla said, pulling from the embrace.

"That's right mister, soon as she's done with you and we got you back here it'll be time for some cuddles," Kat smiled.

"So, Dearest Brother sit down, get comfortable and decide what you want to eat. I am going to find Dearest Jade and play and leave you to your girlfriends," with that Lily smiled kissed her brother's cheek and skipped to the door.

Lily's words had an impact that felt like a slap across the face. Lincoln had been wondering about that since the time they called, granted it was a germ of a thought at the time. Now he was with two lovely girls that both seemed to show interest in him, and he was left wondering who he would end up dating if anyone. Of course, the other thought was a 'what if?' that many guys would seem to have, or so the boys at school would often talk about. What if both girls wanted to date him? What if he could date both girls?

"So." Lincoln sighed, the words lingering on his lips. "Are we dating? I mean, like are ALL of us dating?" He asked.

Both girls looked at each other and smiled.

"Do you want to date us both Snowflake?"

Before Lincoln could answer Skyla laid a finger on his lips, "think Little One, think long and hard before you make a choice. Do it for you, not us."

 ** _~*~*~*~Luan~*~*~*~_**

Luan sat on her bed and looked at the object on her desk. It was something small and seemingly meaningless. Something she just discovered while digging through a box of junk in her room. There she saw it, pulled it out, and within seconds she was drowning in a tidal wave of memories. Memories that pulled her down to a time she wished had stayed forgotten.

The small red Yo-Yo sat on the desk and mocked her much the way she once mocked her little brother. Though the names it called her in her head were far worse than what she and said to Lincoln. And of course, unlike her brother, she deserved it.

She had mocked and teased Lincoln for getting gas while at the dentist. The dentist. A person and place that instilled fear into a lot of children and even some adults. Who didn't have even a tiny bit of fear? What with the needles and drills, the sounds of those instruments, the smell of the smoke as the drill worked its way in.

Luan shuddered.

It was such a hypocritical thing to do, after all, most of the girls got the gas when they went. Yet, for some reason, she felt the need, the desire to tease him. Luan remembered one sisters' only meeting where it was decided to make sure that Lincoln did not grow up to be one of those sexist jerks that they all hated dealing with at school and other places. The ones that treat women like dirt and sex objects. The ones that blame women for all their problems in life. Yeah, it seemed like a good idea, but in doing so, she began to wonder if they were turning him into that by trying to keep him from becoming that.

Did they really have to hover over him and make him think that anything a man did was bad and that everything a woman did was good? Where was the balance? Years of studying comedy helped her to learn that you couldn't take the stage and do a twenty-minute set on the same damn topic. You had to balance your act, toss in some day to day jokes, maybe something nerdy or political, or hell even some prop gags. Give them a variety.

Seemed to her that they should have been doing that with Lincoln. After all, he had no real male role models in the house. Well, there was their Dad, but even he seemed to act more like one of the girls at times. At least, they didn't see the manly stuff with him. Then there was Bobby but as Ronnie Anne had joked, he was more like a little brother than a big brother.

It fell to them to show him that stuff, and god how they failed. It was just so hard because they could not move past their own jaded feelings, which got passed on to Lincoln. In trying to ensure he didn't grow misogynist they'd become sexist themselves. She hadn't believed it was possible to be sexist against men, but here they were, just as bad as any of the jocks in high school cat calling the girl who grew boobs over the summer.

She hoped it wasn't too late. She hoped they could fix this, mend the bridge and repair the bond they all shared with their only brother.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lynn Sr.~*~*~*~**_

On the drive home, Lynn Sr. wondered about his family. His daughters had started to take over the house, of course, they did have the number advantage, but still, it wasn't their house. It was his and his wife's. They were the parents, the ones who were supposed to run things and lead the way. Yet somehow, they ended up handing over control to Lori, who was out of the league in that area. It was unfair as well, as she had her own life to prepare for, college, maybe Bobby, and hopefully a family of her own.

The thought of his little girl growing up and moving on pinched at his heart and made him want to tear up. She was their first, and soon she would leave them to go out into the world. Did they do a good enough job with her? Teaching her how to navigate the world out there. God, he hoped so. However, the way things appeared at home really made him wonder.

They stopped at a light near the intersection close by where Lincoln and Lori used to go to rent their video games. That was back when Lori was still into things like that, and back when you could still rent movies and games without going to a Redbox or signing up for an online service. Just pop in, get your game or movie and go home. Family trips to Major Video were fun back then, the girls wanting to find the latest Disney movie and Lincoln trying to decide between a game or some cartoon. He would like to go back to those old days before all the problems started, but that would mean giving up Lucy, the twins, and of course Lisa and Lily. He couldn't do that.

"Thinking about Major Video again?" Rita asked.

Lynn looked over and smiled. She knew him. Not a lot of couples out there that could tell what the other was thinking, but Rita always seemed to know.

"Yeah."

"You know you romanticize those trips." She smiled. "I remember the screaming, the bickering, and the terrible smell of burnt popcorn." She laughed.

"But you would do it all again wouldn't you?" He asked.

"With you guys?" She paused as if pondering the question long and hard. "In a heartbeat."

The light turned green and they continued their journey back towards the house, mentally preparing to deal with the girls.

"So, what did you and Ami talk about, besides setting up Lincoln's appointment." He asked.

"Thinking of getting a job with Ami," Rita said.

"Really? You ready to leave Dr. Cheap … I mean Feinstein."

Rita laughed, knowing full well how much her husband had disliked Dr. Feinstein. Of course, some of that came from the terrible root canal the man did on Lynn Sr. Kind of hard not to hate someone who caused that much pain.

"Well, that does seem good." Lynn Sr. said.

"They do seem like lovely people, and I think I would enjoy working with Ami," Rita said. Rita frowned a bit, wondering if maybe they were indeed a better family than hers.

Lynn Sr. put his hand on his wife's thigh and smiled at her.

"You think we are screwing up our kids?" She asked.

"I think a lot of parents screw up their kids a little." He told her. "We might have pushed them a little closer to that edge than I am comfortable with, but I have faith we can bring them back from the brink."

Rita leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek. "I love you."

"So Akari's going to do a few tests tomorrow," Lynn told her, bracing for the other shoe to drop. "She thinks he might have a form of depression."

Rita stared at her husband, her face a blank slate. She blinked and looked out past Lynn, past the city streets they passed, and beyond the town of Royal Woods. She was lost in her thoughts, trying to process the words she had just heard. Her baby boy might have a form of depression. What the hell else could go wrong?

* * *

 **Well folks hope you enjoyed the chapter. A lot of the actions of the sisters are based on stories I've read from men that grew up in large families as the only boy along with conjecture from the show.**

 **After** _Sleuth or Consequences_ **I've wondered where Lucy's fear of being teased came from, that's when me and Zoinks decided that it showed be addressed here. Seeing her brothers torment and the older sisters being like sharks to blood with teasing. Especially when you realize in this setting especially it's been Lori who has done most of the parenting and how cruel children and younger teens can often be.**


	10. Sister Time

**Welcome back everyone! This chapter was a pain to write and I hope it lives up to your expectations. I'd like to take this time to think everyone for their kind comments and take a few moments to reply to them.**

 _ **Mike the Red Engine**_ _ **:**_ You are most welcome, expect to see more of Corey in coming stories.

 _ **Red the Pokemon Master**_ _ **:**_ Hopefully the Miyamotos and Kat will keep that from happening.

 _ **Jster1983**_ _ **:**_ How right you are!

 _ **DreadedCandiru2**_ _ **:**_ Agreed on Luan and yes Luna really is off in her own orbit.

 _ **BattleUnit3**_ _ **:**_ We are still digging man! Still digging! As for Lincoln's girls, see the note at the end of this chapter.

 _ **SpartanXHunterX**_ _ **:**_ Read on for the milkshake spy!

 _ **Random123Games**_ _ **:**_ Actually, based those atheists on ones I've meet in real life, right down to the quoting "Congress shall make no law…" line over and over like a Buddhist or Hindu chanting a mantra.

 _ **354wii**_ _ **:**_ Hope this was worth the wait!

 _ **Tommy**_ _ **:**_ Thanks! As for the grammar mistakes pass them forward always looking to correct and update!

 **Legal Stuff:** Nickolodeon owns the Loud House. Temple-Shrine, Skyla and the Miyamotos are my own creation.

* * *

 _ **~*~*~*~Lucy~*~*~*~**_

Lucy locked the door to the restroom before pulling out her cellphone. She didn't really need to go, but it was a good excuse to get in some private reading time. Opening her kindle app she found what she was looking for, a digital gift from Lincoln, the latest MLP comic.

The goth girl suppressed a giggle while she read, her mind drifted back to that night her brother had stuck his neck out for her, giving up his convention, getting grounded and becoming the victim of the teasing she'd have received if not for Lincoln taking the bullet, those following weeks had been bad, worse than when Lincoln's teeth got destroy by Lynn.

At least the night after his teeth where destroyed had ended happily, with the twins, Lisa and herself rallying around their brother and spending a happy night with him watching cartoons on his old laptop until they'd fallen asleep. Lucy figured their mom must have walked in on them and decided instead of taking the little ones back to their own rooms tucked them all in with Lincoln.

What had happened to those days when they were so close? For that matter why hadn't Lucy spent more time with Lincoln after he gave up so much for her? Now he was banished from his own home and who knew where he was? At least she hoped all was well with those girls he was with, but where was he gonna stay tonight?

Tears fell onto the goth girl's cellphone "…Lincoln."

 _ **~*~*~*~Luna~*~*~*~**_

With Lucy in the bathroom, Luna had the room to herself, the perfect time to do some snooping and see just what her little brother had been up to.

Luna looked around the room her eyes falling on Lily's nightstand with a small stack of American comics on like Archie, Sonic, a Batman comic called Dark Knight Returns. Next to it were Japanese titles Negima, Tenchi, Assassination Classroom. A nagging voice in the back of Luna's mind spoke up, asking the question, why hadn't she or anyone else taken the time to try and show any interest in their brother's hobbies Like Lily had?

Luna silenced the voice, not wanting to deal with growing guilt that had already seeped its way into her conscience. She had felt bad for keeping Sam a secret from her family and from Lincoln most of all. There was a time where she would have thought of herself as his best friend in the house, then things changed. She wasn't all that sure how or why Chuck had told her that it was just the cross you had to bear for being a teenager. People liked to tease teenagers about their moody and mellow dramatic behavior, but the thing they often forget is just how damn hard it was trying to learn how to navigate life while riding a raging rapid of emotions. It seemed to make her moody and irrational and had pushed her brother further away from her. Now Lily was his best friend and she was just another bitch in the house that dragged him through the mud. Yeah, she knew how they were all treating him, you would have to be blind or stupid not to see it. She figured, like her, most of them just didn't care because of their own stupid reasons. Hers? Well, it was simple. Jealousy. Luna was bitter and jealous. She still wanted him to be her best friend in the house, and she hated how he had moved on to Lily, who she was also finding a lot of bitter feelings towards as of late.

Luna took a deep breath and let out a sigh that she almost expected, would have summoned Lucy. Thankfully the room was still clear and she continued her snooping.

She found his iPod sitting on his desk, another hand me down. She had gotten a new phone for Christmas and had given Lincoln the iPod with a lot of preloaded songs that she thought he would like. She went over and picked it up, turned it on, and scrolled through the list of songs and artists. The songs she'd picked for him where still there, but she was shocked to see what had joined them. A bunch of artists she'd never heard of AKB48, Hikaru Utada, Namie Amuro, and Myth & Roid, more Japanese stuff it seemed, scrolling down she felt her stomach turn.

Manowar, Sabaton, Hammerfall, Tyr, Blood Axis, bands Luna couldn't stand, with their music that seemed to glorify war and violence.

"Gah, where the hell did he find this crap?" She muttered to herself.

"You know Lori and I were already in here," Lucy said from behind.

The sudden sound of the young girl's voice had boomed out like an echo within the quiet bubble of the room. Luna was shocked that her skeleton had not actually lept from her skin and made a break for it, leaving a skeleton-shaped hole in the wall. She clutched her heart and whipped her head back around to stare daggers through her sister.

"Goddammit, Lucy!" Luna said in a hushed sort of shout, "you nearly killed me, dude."

Luna thought she saw a brief smirk cross her sisters face at this knowledge, and she could not blame her one bit. If she had been on the other side of this, she might have busted a gut laughing.

"Sorry," Lucy said as she went and sat down on Lily's bed, resting her head in hands looking at the ceiling, it was then Luna noticed the posters for Therion, Sabaton and the others on the wall, amazing how sometimes you just don't notice these things. Now to think of it where was his Muscle Fish clock or his Ace Savvy Poster?

Luna was getting more worried about Lincoln by the minute, but there was still so much anger and bitterness mixed in with it. What scared the rocker was that she was not sure where it was all coming from, but she knew exactly where it was being directed. Why didn't she care that Lincoln was getting the brunt of it all? She rubbed her eyes and hung her head low, catching sight of something on the floor. It was a small red corner. She reached down and picked it up this time she heard the soft sound of Lucy's Mary Janes hitting the floor and padding over to her, it was rare to hear Lucy moving around.

"Is that...?" The words stuck in the young goths mouth. She looked to Luna, curious about what she was going to do with it.

Luna looked back at Lucy, a mental conversation beginning with her own morals. She knew she shouldn't look at it, it was his own personal thoughts, not meant for the eyes of others. Though the, somewhat, rational side of her tried to justify it by saying that if kept a journal, took the time to write the words on paper, then you MUST want someone to read it eventually. Of course, that sounded like something Lola would have said, and anything Lola would say was never at the top of any list of advice to follow. Still ...

Luna cracked the book open, leafing through the pages as Lucy's head jerked up her hair parting showing one wide blue eye that was slightly red, had she been crying?

"What the heck Luna?!" Lucy yelled, taking a step forward her fists balling at her side.

"Chill Luce, I'm just taking a peek." The rocker tried to calm her sister down.

"If Lincoln had gone into your room and looked at your diary, you would be all over him," Lucy yelled, feeling the heat of her anger rise to add color to her face.

"Yeah but that's different."

"How? How is that different? Because he is a boy? Does him not being a girl somehow take away his right to privacy!?"

Luna thought about it. Was that what was really going on? Did they really treat him that differently just because he was a boy? She quickly pushed the thoughts from her head and snapped back at Lucy.

"As one of the oldest, I have a right to look." She yelled back.

"You are just a hypocritical bitch," Lucy said with such venom that Luna was stunned for a couple of seconds.

"What did you say to me?"

Lucy glared at her, "You heard me... Bitch."

 _ **~*~*~*~Lana~*~*~*~**_

Lana had finished catching Lisa up on the many different things that Lincoln had started to show more interest in. She also pointed out that he had stopped reading Ace Savvy and most other American comics for some reason, instead of showing more interest in things like manga and anime.

"Hmm, makes sense as many kids start to turn towards more Japanese influenced things these days," Lisa said as she took notes. "I find his interest in philosophy and religion interesting as well if disturbing in the latter case. We do NOT need a religious Loud."

"Amen sister," Lana smirked getting a chuckle from Lisa. Lana might pray from time to time but going full religion? No thank you, the idea of Lincoln becoming a bible thumper was terrifying.

"Lisa, can I ask you something?" Lisa looked up and nodded for Lana to continue. "Why did we never tell Lincoln about the Sister Fight Protocol?"

Lisa looked at Lana as if she had just been asked why they all liked chocolate. Lucy had said it best it was a sister thing he would never have understood; this was obvious from how all he did was try to interfere and refused to butt out.

"Also, something I've been thinking about. The first time, right?" Lisa nodded for her sister to continue, "why did we block off the kitchen and bathroom before he was even told about the protocol? Then he tries to watch TV Lynn and Lola beat the crap out of him for doing that during the protocol, he STILL has a scar on his side from what they did to him. What did we expect him to do? He had no choice but to get involved or leave his own home. Why didn't we just use one of our bedrooms instead of the kitchen and bathroom? For that matter if Lori and Leni need absolute silence to keep from flying off the handle, they have more issues than a dress," Lana sighed and hung her head.

"Now we're doing this all over again. This isn't the first or second time he's been driven from here, don't get me started on the Squirrel suit mess. Three times Lisa, we've driven him from our home," Lana raised her hand Lisa thinking she was about to hit her instead she drove it into her own hand for emphasis, "THREE," Lana struck her hand again, "TIMES!"

Lisa stared at her sister and blinked, taking in the information and wonder just what she could respond with. For once, Lisa Loud found her mind empty.

"How could we… Can we keep doing this to him?" Lana shook her head waiting for a response from Lisa, for once the tiny genius was at a loss for words.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lola~*~*~*~**_

Lola Loud was not the smallest girl in the house, but she was close. At six years old, with her blonde hair and perky smile, she looked like the most adorable little girl in the house. She tried to give off an air of grace and dignity, though those within the house knew that beneath the painted on beauty was a little pixie of hellfire. When push came to shove, Lola Loud could often be the most feared creature within the walls of the Loud House. She had a way of gathering dirt and information that could be used against anyone and was able to rival Lynn what it came to fighting. Although Lynn had the skill, Lola liked to remind the sporty Loud that it was hard to defend yourself again a brick to the face in the wee hours of the morning. This led to a week of Lynn sleeping with a baseball bat.

Lola could be a real witch, she couldn't say the other word with a B in it when she was in a mood. Lola was often in a mood. And when she was acting like that she had been known to take things out on those around her, even her brother. So to say that she had treated Lincoln, not to mention her other siblings, badly over the years would be an understatement. But that didn't mean she didn't love him, far from it Lincoln was her Prince after all, but now she was wondering if Lisa cared. After what they learned from their trip to Liam's farm Lisa was still willing to call for the S.F.P.

The callousness of her young sister made Lola's blood boil. Still though, she was only one person, one tiny little ball of rage and fire, but still one person too small to fight all of them or honestly even one of them other than Lisa. That meant she had to just sit back and hope that they could eventually figure this all out. Lori hated it as well, and so did Luan, Lola could see it. The fact that they didn't speak up or put their foot down made the little beauty queen suspicious. Did they have a plan in place? If so, why didn't they include her? She was going to find all of that out soon enough.

As she started to make her way upstairs with a juice box in hand, she saw Lynn on her way down. The two glared at each other.

"What's your problem?" Lynn Jr. snarled.

"You," Lola snapped back.

"What?

"My prince is out there, not allowed back into his own home because you and the little brainiac are keeping him from coming home. And none you even care." Lola spat.

"He's a clever boy, he can fend for himself." Lynn shot back.

"He shouldn't have to," Lola said. "You are such a ... " Lola wanted to say it. Lynn was pushing her buttons and Lola just wanted to explode and release the beast. Say that word she wasn't supposed to say.

"A what?" Lynn said, baiting her.

Lola turned a bright red as the fire within her burned hotter, she was surprised that steam had not actually shot from her ears. Lynn stood there with a mocking grin, just tempting Lola.

"YOU'RE A BITCH!" Lola screamed.

The word echoed, and Lori shot around the corner like a bat out of hell. She looked up as Lynn had her fist raised to strike Lola, and Lola was cocked back to hit Lynn below the belt.

"LYNN! LOLA!" Lori yelled. "What the hell is going on here?"

Both girls looked down at a furious looking Lori, who started to climb the stairs motioning for both girls to go back to the top.

Both girls shrunk back Lori had gotten mad before, even yelled a few times. This time though, it was as if she were channeling their parents. The stern and harsh tone in her voice made them listen and do as they were told.

Once at the top of the stairs Lori could hear yelling coming from Lincoln's room. She went and opened the door, finding Lucy and Luna going at it. Both girls were inching closer to each other and screaming like to drunken frat girls fighting over a guy.

"HEY!" Lori yelled, silencing both girls. "Out in the hall NOW." She commanded, to which the girls followed the instructions.

All four girls lined up and stood against the wall. Their eye dead ahead as Lori had turned from normal Lori to drill Sargent Lori.

"I want to know what you all were fighting about and I want to know now." She commanded. The girls all started to talk over each other. "One at a time." They all shut up.

Lori walked up and down the hall in silence, knowing that the others were looking on from downstairs and from their rooms. She paid no attention and just kept her eyes on the floor as she gathered her thoughts. She stopped in front of Lola first.

"You swore."

Lola nodded, feeling a wave of shame wash over her.

"Why?"

Lola looked up, switching her gaze from Lori to Lynn, she gave a sideways glare. "Lynn was pushing me, and I didn't like the way she was talking about Lincoln."

Lori understood this, Lynn was a master at pushing buttons, and Lola was like a little stick of dynamite ready to explode.

"I didn't say anything about Lincoln that isn't true," Lynn shouted, quickly shutting her mouth once she caught sight of Lori's glare.

Lori moved on to Lucy and Luna, pacing back and forth before stopping in front of the little goth goddess of the house. She knelt down to be eye level with her younger sister.

"And what were you and Luna fighting about?" Lori grilled the goth girl. She kept the same tone of voice, even though she did not often like to raise her voice to Lucy. Though there were times where she had.

"Luna was snooping in Lincoln's room," Lucy said, a bit more emotion in her voice than the girls were used to hearing.

Lori couldn't really do much about that as she had been snooping as well. She was looking for clues or signs pointing to what Lincoln had been thinking as of late. He had seemed off and she felt it, but like always she had put her own needs ahead of his. That was not the job of a good older sister, especially when that older sister had been thrust into a more motherly figure.

"And she was reading Lincoln's journal," Lucy said. "She said as one of the older girls she had a right to that." Both Lola and Lori blushed at this.

"Lucy you shouldn't have started a fight with Luna over that," Lori said.

"But ..." Lucy started to protest before being cut off.

"Not when I did the exact same thing," Lori said. "You don't know Luna did that, she could have had good intentions for looking through his stuff. Still, that doesn't excuse what either of us did, though I don't regret my actions. I wanted answers and I was, am" Lori corrected herself, "willing to do what I have to in order to find them."

Lucy hung her head, realizing that Lori was right. She had not yelled at her oldest sister for doing the same thing that Luna was doing. She began to realize she was not mad at Luna for going through his stuff, it was because she was part of the side that appeared to not even care about their only brother's feelings. Luna was once really close with Lincoln, now she seemed to not even care about his well being. This made her furious.

"Okay," Lori stood up and began to pace again. "I want everyone back in their assigned rooms until Mom and Dad come home. We can figure out everything else then, except you Luna, go back to your room, Luan can bunk with Lucy in Lincoln's room."

The girls all looked disappointed at their eldest sisters command, but dare not go against her wishes. They began to file off to their assigned rooms.

"Leni wait!" Lori tried to get her sisters attention. "Weren't you going to make smoothies for everyone?" She smiled and winked.

Leni stood there in a daze as her mind tried to put the pieces of this puzzle together. She remembered saying something about smoothies, and boy did she love smoothies. She also sort of remembered wanting to make some for her sisters. The rest of the reasoning was a complete blank to her.

Lori sighed and took her sister by the wrist. "Come on Leni, I will help you."

"Okay." Leni chirped.

 _ **~*~*~*~Leni and Lori~*~*~*~**_

Leni got all the ingredients from the fridge and cupboards, fruits and veggies to make her famous smoothies. Her siblings often commented on how she was so good at making them and they tasted like heaven in a cup, that some of her siblings suggested she try selling them. Of course, Leni soon forgot all about that.

Lori had noticed just how forgetful Leni had been as of late. It started with small things then had turned to more and more. She would forget her homework, forget to brush her teeth, and had even forgotten where she lived a few times. Lori was getting worried about her sister and roommate. Would the others be able to step up and help Leni if she went away to college? And what would happen to Leni if went away to school? Who would look out for her if she was able to get into college? Lori wondered why life had to be so hard. Why couldn't there be a cheat code like in those video games she used to play.

"So do you remember the plan now?" Lori asked. Leni nodded and hummed a little tune as she put the fruits and veggies next to the blender. "And you're sure you can handle this?"

"Lori, do you think I am stupid?" Leni asked. The tone in her voice was not a condescending one, it came off like she was actually asking her sister if she thought she was dumb.

"No Leni, I don't think you are stupid at all." Lori smiled touched Leni's shoulder.

"I keep forgetting things, and it's starting to worry me." She frowned.

"It's okay Leni, you always got us here to remind you."

"Good, I don't think I can make it without you guys." Leni smiled, she then went back to making up the smoothies for her siblings.

Lori wanted to hug Leni and cry. First, she had failed Lincoln, and now it felt like she was letting everyone else down as well. Lynn and Luna were turning into total bitches, Leni thought she was an idiot, Lisa was becoming a cold and emotionless know it all. She wasn't sure she could handle any more failures. This plan had to work for them to be able to try and put this family back together.

"Okay, so you remember the plan right Leni?" Lori asked.

"Uh huh." Leni nodded.

"Can you repeat it back to me please, just to be sure we went over everything right," Lori said.

"Well, first I make the smoothies," Leni said with a big bright beaming grin. "That's my favorite part. Then I take them to the girls one at a time. Luna, Lynn, Lola, and Lana." She looked at Lori to make sure she got it right.

"Correct."

"Then you tell me what to say to them to see if they are our side or on Lisa's side."

"You got it, sis." Lori hugged Leni.

Leni finished making the smoothies, and loaded them onto a serving tray, first stop was Lola's room, she had a bright pink strawberry and banana ready for the Princess.

Leni nodded, then put the earpiece in her ear and made her way upstairs to visit her two younger sisters. Lori would head to her room where Luan would be waiting, and they would guide her through the ... what was the word they used? Integration? Well, it was something like that.

Once Leni made her way to Lisa's room, she went to use her elbow to knock, the door opened to a video of the night of the first SFP and the sounds of Lisa and Lana howling with laughter as the video showed Lincoln being attacked by Lola and Lynn.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lisa and Lana~*~*~*~**_

"See right here," Lisa and Lana had been reviewing the tapes from the night of the first protocol, "Lincoln just wanted a snack and we decided the kitchen was the perfect candidate, what does he do after I fed him food from the trash? He goes right to his room and shuts the door; can you fast forward please?"

Lisa passed the mouse over, "here Lana, why don't you take control of this? I'm interested to see what conclusions you draw.

With a nod Lana switched cameras to the bathroom and sped up time, "here again, we took a public area and walled it off. Now I did over Lincoln the use of "old sloshy" which he did ultimately take, however it didn't take many uses before he had filled, I mean we were ALL using the same dang bucket

except for Leni. Still Lincoln didn't interfere until after this next time," Lana skipped ahead, "here he went down to just watch TV and then gets the tar beaten out of him by Lynn and Lola. Now and ONLY now do we tell him about the protocol and not to get involved while he is bruised and bleeding, if anyone else had beaten Lincoln like this we'd have their heads on a pike! Now he does try to interfere and notice this," Lana manipulated the cameras, "he realized his mistake, it's right there on his face, and went to his room and closed the door. What did we do? Decided nope, lesson time and kicked him right back out and kept making it worse for him till he fled. An, of course, the talking to he got when he came back."

Lisa nodded, "I see, of course looking at it like this it's no wonder our brother reacted as he did, I confess I have no idea why we didn't offer up our bedrooms and looking back on it, to attack our brother because a loud noise would make Lori and Leni lose it… Demanding silence in THIS house!? If you can't stand it Loud you were born into the wrong family."

It took Lana a few seconds to realize that Lisa had made a joke but the grin on her younger sisters face was unmistakable, a small giggled escaped Lana and soon both of them where laughing, as Lana slapped her hand down she hit the remote causing the video of the entire night to playback from the beginning as Leni eased the door open and flinched.

Lana rushed to Leni's side helping the older girl steady herself and saving her cargo from falling across the floor, "you okay Leni?"

Leni nodded and smiled down at Lana handing her and then Lisa a smoothie.

"To what do we owe this delightful gift?" Lisa asked.

Leni looked at her brainy sister with a dumbfounded expression as she tried to understand what was just said.

"Why are you handing out smoothies Leni? Looks like you made one for every girl here," Lana said, hoping to simplify things a tad.

"Oh," Leni said, rubbing the side of her head, "I just thought I would be nice, with everything going on today thought a treat would lift everyone's spirits. Well gotta get going! Lots of smoothies to hand out, have a good one girls!" With that, Leni hurried out shutting the door behind her.

"Okay, Lisa, was it just me or was Leni acting funny? Plus she kept rubbing the side of her head, does she have an earache?"

"I'm not sure, it almost looked like part of that spy kit we got for Lincoln awhile back… Before he put it up after he got caught spying on the older girls becoming a woman talk" Lisa rubbed her chin.

"Ummm, it wasn't that he was listening in on, he was trying to record bird sounds it just happened the bird he was listening to landed near Lori's window, he turned it off… She didn't?" Lana's jaw dropped open.

"Yes, a rather severe punishment too, I wonder…" Lisa started typing.

"Whatcha doing?"

"A thought occurs to me, what are the experiences of other men that had a large number of female siblings," Lisa started reading.

"Good idea, lemme get my laptop and help."

"Just use the other terminal," Lisa nodded to a keyboard near Lana.

Soon both girls lapsed into silence.

 _ **~*~*~*~Leni~*~*~*~**_

As soon as she'd open the door the listening device let out a loud shriek that left Leni with an earache and trouble hearing for a bit, thankfully Leni could clearly see that both girls not only were okay with the protocol but found Lincy's suffering funny. Well, she hoped what happened would prove a good lesson. She made her way to Lola's room and knocked.

"Come in!" Lola said from the other side.

Leni whimpered as she realized she couldn't open the door with both hands being full. She racked her brain for the solution to this problem until a light bulb had gone off in her brain. She removed her shoe and shifted her weight back onto her left leg, leaning and bringing her right foot up to the door. She carefully gripped the doorknob with her toes, that tried to turn it and push. Her feet had slipped a few times and Leni had nearly lost her balance and landed on her butt, almost spilling the smoothies.

She let out a frustrated snort and grimaced at her new rival within the house. The doorknob was not being very nice. She made another attempt, trying to be very careful, but this time almost fell forward, slamming against the door.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Lola yelled through the door.

Leni could hear the stomps of a terrible not toddler in pink with a crown. Soon the door swung open and a little blonde girl with a grimace that could rival the Hulk stood before her.

"What?!" Lola yelled, her features quickly softening as she noticed the smoothies in Leni's hands. "Oooh smoothies, gimme gimme gimme."

Leni pulled the sweet treats back, protecting them from the greedy little princess.

Leni smiled down at the pink twin, "okay, okay, now then," she walked in, "hey Lola, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!" Lola started to happily sip her smoothie.

"So ... " She waited for Lori or Luan to speak into their end and tell her what to say they hadn't said anything since she went into Lisa's room.

"What is in your ear?" the princess asked.

Leni's face went beet red as she struggled to figure out what to say finally hearing her sisters through the device.

"Tell them it's a hearing aid!" Luan blurted out.

"Why would she wear a hearing aid? For that matter can she even hear us?" Lori said.

"You got any other bright ideas?" Luan snapped back at their eldest sister.

Leni stood there like a tall beautiful, and very sweaty, statue trying to think of what to do. She was not the smart one, not even close, but she had people telling her all the time that she was not dumb. No, Leni's were not dumb. They were smart when they had to be when the time came to use that thingy in their heads. Brains! The thingy was called brains.

"I was playing with one of Lincoln's toys, must have forgotten to take the earpiece thingy out," Leni said.

"Oh." Lola shrugged it off and sipped at her smoothie.

"Speaking of Linky," Leni started trying to keep her thoughts together as best she could. "I was ... hmm, what was I thinking? Oh yeah, I was wondering how you felt about all of this protocol stuff?"

"I am not a fan," Lola said folding her arms, Leni gave a big bright smile, happy that at least one of her younger sisters was worried about their brother and his well being, "and," Lola continued her teeth barred taking a step forward her eyes firmly on Leni's ear as she jabbed a finger at the earpiece, "I want to know what you where thinking when you made it and didn't bother to include Lincoln in it, Lore! Yeah I know you are listening, let me guess. Luan's with you, am I right?"

Once again Leni froze, the scarlet in her cheeks draining to a pale white. She instantly went from a deep blush to be the pale ghost-like version of Leni Loud within seconds of what Lola had said.

There came a panicked cry from the earbud that now dangled from the perky blonde's shoulder like a jungle vine. If not for the sheer panic that she found herself to be in, Leni might have imagined a tiny little jungle man swinging on the jungle vine with an earbud. She often did things like that.

"Um..." Leni squeaked out, more words jumbled and caught up on themselves, stuck on the edge of her tongue. "I am not, uh, not sure what you are talking about." She attempted to lie. Leni's were not very good at lying.

Lola looked at Leni like a parent who caught a child mid-lie, yet the child still tried to make it work.

"Leni, I lie for a living, you are not going to be able to get this past me," Lola said.

"How do you make a living lying?" Leni blinked.

"The less you know the better sweetie." Lola smiled. She walked over to Leni and grabbed the earbud, bringing to closer to her face for inspection. "Hmmm, see the problem is you guys are using a child's toy for a professional job."

Lola looked at Leni and motioned for her sister to hand over the equipment. She put the earbud in and attached the listening device to the front of her sash.

"Can you hear me?" She asked. There was a long pause then finally a deep sigh.

 _ **~*~*~*~Lori and Luan~*~*~*~**_

"Yes Lola, we can hear you," Lori said on the other end.

"Okay so first we need to get a better device, I think I still have the one I used to hide in my crown when I would spy on the competition at the beauty pageants. " She went to her desk and started to rummage around. "The other thing you may want to consider if you are going to Lisa's room is that her machines may cause interference."

"We already found out the hard way," Lori responded upset with herself because she had not thought about that, surely Lisa had some sort of devices to interfere with other devices. She was pretty sure that was the reason her cell phone would always act up when she was walking near her room, now to think of it Lily, Lincoln and the twins complained a lot about cellphone interference. This plan was starting to melt like the ice in their smoothies.

"So what do we do?" Luan asked.

"I literally have no idea, I just hope Leni was able to get the information we needed without tipping off the other sisters, okay Lola bring Leni with you to my room," Lori said.

Soon Lola and Leni arrived the later flipping down onto her bed.

"I blew it." Leni sighed.

"You didn't find anything out from the others?" Luan asked.

Leni sighted, "I walked in on Lisa and Lana laughing at a video from the night of the protocol. Lola's the only one against it."

"You did it Leni," Lori told her sister, a big bright smile that nearly matched Leni's. "You went out there and you did it."

Leni suddenly felt proud of herself. She had done it. She had not failed the way she thought she would have. Maybe, just maybe, she was smarter than she gave herself credit for.

Downstairs the girls could hear the front door open. Their parents were home.

* * *

 **So, this is the end of one of the hardest chapters we've written yet. Now then we have a poll we are about to put up on my profile page.**

 **Here are the deal folks Zoinks81 is not comfortable with writing a polyamorous relationship so we decided to put the issue to YOU the reader.**

 **We are going with the following options:**

 **First Skyla and Lincoln only. This will involve a VERY small rewrite of Kat's role in the story to a concerned friend and give her a subplot about not being over Chandler.**

 **Second three-person polyamory of Skyla, Lincoln, and Kat. The story will continue as is.**

 **Third option full harem. Skyla, Lincoln, Kat and a couple of other members planned to be involved.**

 **If you want Lincoln and Kat go read Zoinks81's work and send a PM to Zoinks81 (not me) telling him I want more Katcoln!**

 **Poll is opened until the 30th and only votes on the poll on my profile will be counted not comments. Good luck folks!**

… **Oh by the way, anyone notice who was forgotten?**


	11. Gassed out

**I always forget to put chapter notes in!**

 **Sorry, this took so long. My Landlord died from Lung Cancer and I had to move back to South Carolina. It's been a rough move but here is the latest chapter where Lincoln goes to his appointment. But first!**

 ** _echo009_** : Thanks! Hope you like the rest!

 _ **Samtastic 3.0**_ : Yeah, I really wanted to try making Luna a bit of a jerk instead of a saint. I think this is working out.

 _ **muiszlover2008:**_ How is this an NSL fic? I mean NSL is mentioned as having happened but that's it.

 _ **Anon reader**_ : Thanks! The trick is popping the hood and seeing what makes the dynamic's tick and why things are as they are. Only other author I know to try this is That Engineer.

 ** _Mr. Nonsense_** : Yeah if we had gone Harem it would have been spread out over SEVERAL stories. As is well see the end of the chapter.

 _ **vinjedi1995**_ : Dude, come over to the Paragraph Breaks Side. I tried but couldn't understand what you were talking about.

* * *

~*~*~Skyla~*~*~

Skyla was the first to awaken from the nap. She crawled from the cuddle puddle the trio had managed to make and grabbed her phone which was plugged into the charger on the wall. She stepped outside to call Mystery Cluck, a local chicken place that gained fame for its owners more so than its actual food. Sure, the chicken was good, a nice blend of spices and crispy crust from the breading, but that didn't seem to surpass the former mystery solvers who opened the growing franchise. The one in Royal Woods was the first, and the only one the owners still worked at on weekends.

"Hello, thank you for calling Mystery Cluck, this is Mrs. Rogers but you can call me Velma. How can I help you today." The voice said on the other end.

"Yes, I would like one Shaggy special please, and a side order of Scooby snacks," Skyla said. "Okay, so that is one Shaggy special with a side of Scooby snacks," Velma repeated, to which Skyla confirmed. "That will be twenty-three forty-six. Would you like to pay over the phone or upon delivery?"

"Could you please put in on the Miyamoto account please," Skyla said.

"Jinkies! You guys sure do love chicken," Velma joked. "Okay, that should be there in about thirty minutes. Thank you for choosing Mystery Cluck Mrs. Miyamoto, have a spooky day."

Once she hung up she went back inside to see Lincoln and Kat stretching and yawning. It was funny to her that Kat had seemed to take on many of her namesake's mannerisms. She once was able to entertain her friend for several minutes with a laser pointer. Of course, Kat hated for that fact to brought up, often trying to deny it. Skyla had video proof on her phone. There were a few "Kat video's" on her phone. The girl had a way of making people smile with the simple act of just being herself. Cute little things like adding a purr here and there, or the way she would wiggle her butt while doing her infamous "Kat dance". She was one of a kind and a true treasure of a friend. Skyla felt blessed to have both her and Lincoln in her life.

Lincoln had laid back down, his head resting in Kat's lap as the young girl played with the snow-white locks of hair. He had a distant smile on his face as if his mind had drifted off to a wonderful happy place.

"Comfortable Koji-kun?" Skyla smirked.

"I'm not complaining." He said with a grin, his eyes closed and a very relaxed look on his face. "I'm still dreading tomorrow, but I will deal with that later. Right now, I want to enjoy being pampered."

"You think this is something, just wait and see the pampering you will get after Ami's done," Kat told him, then leaned down and kissed his nose. This made his eyes pop open as he hadn't been kissed since Ronnie Anne. Kat giggled at the scarlet hue that crept along his cheeks.

"So, do you think that your sister Ami will let you be there with me?" Lincoln asked.

Skyla could sense a hint of distress in his voice as if he were worried about going in alone. She knew there was a common fear of the dentist. Many people looked as if they were entering a torture chamber when they first came to visit her sister, though they often left with smiles and praises, claiming they could not wait to come back. Though some of that may have had to do with the fact that Ami was very pleasing to look at.

"I'm sure she won't have a problem with us keeping you company, I've done it for Kat after all," Skyla told him.

"Maybe we can play with your hair, or hold your hand, or even rub your feet," Kat said.

"Please be careful with my feet," Lincoln pleaded. "I'm sort of ticklish down there."

"Okay snowflake, we'll be careful with your feet during the appointment," Skyla said, grinning ear to ear.

"Thanks, I don' think that would ..." Lincoln started to say before replaying that over again in his head. "Wait, why did you say during the appointment?"

Before Lincoln knew it, he was being held down and tickled. He tried to squirm free, but Skyla was just too strong.

"S-stop!" Lincoln pleaded, "I'll pee ... if you ... if you keep this up." His voice cracked as he tried to keep it together while laughing.

"But you are so cute when you laugh," Kat said, dragging out the so in such a way she seemed to squeak.

"Not so ... cute when my bladder leaks." He screamed through his fit of hysterical laughter.

Finally, the two girls released him, with Kat cuddling up in front of him and Skyla wrapping her arms around the two of them.

Time passed before Lincoln spoke, "girls… Where's the bathroom?"

~*~*~Lily~*~*~

Lily sat in a room that looked like a blend of an Asian exhibit at a history museum with a kid's a room. The walls were decorated with paintings sort of like the ones she saw when her parents would take them all to The Jade Dragon's Palace for Chinese food. Just looking at the paintings made her think of egg foo yung, and her tummy started to snarl like a wild dog. The first time it did this Jade had heard it and went to find Alex to get some snacks for them. While they were gone Lily decided to wander around the room and look around.

While the walls contained paintings and such, the floor was littered with all kinds of toys and books. She bent down and picked up a doll in a pink dress with black hair. Giving it a squeeze. The doll giggled and said that it had pooped itself. Something kind of gross and silly, yet to a girl her age, it probably brought a smile to their face.

Lily hated most things deemed appropriate for her age. When reminded she use to mess her diapers constantly Lily often call the slightly younger version of herself "that creature." Her family tried to remind her that she had a baby, no different than any other baby out there. All babies started out crawling and were unable to talk. Still, it bothered her. Yet she had to admit there were times that who she was now bothered her as well. She wondered if she was becoming too much like her sis ... like the house scientist, Lisa. Simple things like dolls and such did not really interest her anymore. She felt they were for children and not for a lady. For some reason, she now thought of herself more like a lady. A lady with a responsibility to look after her family.

Alex and Jade soon returned with a tray of fruits and veggies and cheese.

"Here you go girls," Alex said, placing the tray on a little plastic table in the center of the room. "I hope you enjoy." He smiled at Lily, who could feel the blush lighting up her cheeks to look like little apples.

Alex left and closed the door while Jade picked a few grapes from a bunch, popping them in her mouth.

"So you have a crush on Alex huh?" Jade grinned at her new friend.

"Is-is it that obvious?" Lily gulped, trying to swallow her embarrassment.

Jade grinned wider and nodded.

"I haven't felt like this since Lincoln brought Hugh home to help him with his schoolwork," Lily confessed.

Lily noticed the sudden silence from her friend and looked over to see Jade staring off into the distance. She swore there were little hearts in her eyes.

"Oh, Hugh." Jade sighed.

"So you know him too?" Lily asked, taking a couple of pieces of cheese.

"He started attending evening meditation over at the Zen center and Jin invited him over a few times, " She told her. "Most of the girls in the house had to wear bibs, we were drooling so much." Jade giggled, which caused her friend to join in, "of course now he's dating Tamiko and I think the rest of my sisters want to kill her out of envy."

Lily nodded thinking he own sisters would want to do the same. After a few moments, Jade spoke again, "I see you found my Sally doll."

"Yeah, it's .." Lily wanted to say cute, to be polite and all.

"Silly?" Jade interrupted. "I know. Mother and Father got it for me. They think I am growing up too fast." She giggled again. "I just don't like to play with dolls. I still play with my toys, I have a nice collection of ponies and some Sailor Moons." Jade motioned back towards her closet.

"I don't really play with my toys much anymore," Lily confessed. "I'm worried I am becoming too much like my sister Lisa. The one who ordered this stupid protocol thing."

Jade walked over and wrapped her arm around Lily, giving her a hug.

"I don't even know this Lisa, but I can promise you are nothing like her," Jade told her.

"Thank you."

"Now your problem with toys could just be that you haven't fond the right toys and the right friend." Jade a grin on her face. "Let's pull out my toy chests and see what we can do."

Lily now shared her friends grin as they both went to retrieve the toy chests.

~*~*~ Kat ~*~*~

The chicken from Mystery Cluck had arrived, dropped off by a boy around Luna's age. He was dressed in a green shirt with orange shorts and had dark thick-rimmed glasses. Skyla had some cash on her and gave the boy a tip, getting a "Jinkies! Like, thanks man!" and a smile. She brought the food in and set it down in the center of the room. She handed Lincoln and Kat paper plates and kept one for herself.

Kat took out a piece of chicken and scooped some mac and cheese on her plate. She began to shovel the stuff into her mouth, getting looks from the other two.

"What?" She said with a mouth full of food. "I was hungry."

"To say the least," Skyla said, marveling at the skill it took her friend to NOT bite through her spork at that pace.

"Oh shut up, I have seen you suck down a bowl of noodles like your name was hoover," Kat joked.

Lincoln was getting at that age where girls were more than just friends, and certain phrases or images could start to turn to a more sexual nature. A very awkward, if not somewhat pleasant, image had entered his young mind. The blush on his was was even obvious to him. He coughed on a piece of chicken as he tried to regain his composure.

"You okay snowflake?" Kat asked.

"Fine," Lincoln managed to get out through coughing fits, "just went down the wrong pipe."

"So after we eat, what should we do?" Skyla asked.

"How about a game?" Kat said.

Skyla found herself in deep thought for a moment, trying to figure out what kind of game they could play. She was pretty sure most of the board games were in the house and those were kind of fun, but she wanted something just for the three of them. Something that could help them all open up and get to know each other while having fun.

"How about a game of truth or dare?" Skyla suggested. "But with a twist."

Kat looked on with interest. "Go on." She slowly inched a drumstick to her mouth and bit into it while listening to her friend.

Skyla got up and walked to a desk in the corned, it was a small desk that hardly took up any room. She pulled out a deck of cards, walked back and sat down, placing the cards in the center of them near the remains of dinner.

"What's with the cards?" Lincoln asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"In truth of dare, you get the option of picking one or the other," Skyla explained. "While some versions you get to pick for the person. This one is going to be random." She opened the deck of cards and slide out the stack. The design on the back was of a dragon and a phoenix. She flipped the cards over and pulled out a two of diamonds and seven of clubs. "Red," She held up the two of diamonds, "Means you have to do a dare." She put the card back and held up the seven of clubs. "Black is truth."

"So it's totally random," Lincoln said.

"Yep." Skyla nodded.

"And we have to do what the card says?" Kat asked.

"Yep." Skyla nodded again.

The three of them exchanged glances.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot." Kat finally said.

They finished up eating and cleaned up, basically just throwing about the plates and running the leftovers into the house. When Skyla returned she sat down with the cards in the center again, looking from Lincoln to Kat.

"So who wants to start." She asked.

"You." Both of them said, making Skyla grin.

She pulled a card off the top, holding up to reveal it was the eight of hearts. She placed the card back at the bottom of the deck, then sat back and smiled.

"So ... what do we have her do?" Lincoln asked Kat.

"Hypnotize herself so that we can make her cluck like a chicken on demand?" Kat suggested.

"What makes you think I didn't already do that to you?" Skyla said with a devilish grin.

Kat and Lincoln took turns whispering in each other's ears, trying to find something they could get Skyla to do that would give them a laugh. They were finding it a bit difficult as Skyla did not seem to harbor many secrets that they knew of, or had much in the way of lack of talent. At least that was how Kat seemed to put it.

"I know let her sing!" Lincoln said.

"What song snowflake?" Kat asked.

"No idea..." he replied thinking it over, "if this was home my sisters would make me sing something from My Little Pony... Long story I'll tell you later."

That was when Skyla began to sing 'Lullabye for a Princess,' which almost put Lincoln back to sleep till Kat tickled his ribs to get him moving. Skyla bowed giving her trademark smirk.

"She can sing," Lincoln said.

"Of course she can sing. Why can't she sing? Little so and so damn near perfect," Kat shook her head.

"Not so Kat," Skyla told her. "I make mistakes, have little secrets that are embarrassing."

"I don't believe it one bit," Kat told her. "Since I have known you I hardly ever see a flaw." Skyla gave a mocking glare at her friend. "What?" Kat played innocent.

"Just because you don't always notice it, or see it, does not mean it's not there," Skyla told her. "I'm not perfect. I'm human, I do make mistakes. I do have moments where I can screw up or make a grade-A butthead out of myself."

"Name one," Lincoln said, getting a surprised look from Skyla. "Not that I don't believe you, but you have seen me make a fool out of myself on several occasions. I'm sure the same is true for Kat. So let us see or know about something you did."

Skyla turned a deep scarlet as she thought of a moment that still haunted her. Something that came up, or out so to speak. A little reminder of how cruel kids could be at times, how they could take one moment of your life to stick it in like a knife going deeper and cutting at your nerves.

"It was before I went to that private school with Kat." She told them, walking over and sitting down. Her eyes were distant, looking back at the memories as they played like an old-time movie on a projector. "We were in a music class, we were all required to take up a musical instrument. I played the viola. Didn't really want to, but it was just what I ended up with. We started to get ready for a class, pulling out our instruments when it happened. I farted. A long drawn out fart that sounded like someone blowing into a horn or something. It was odd because I don't usually make a sound. Victoria once said I was like an ass ninja, silent and deadly."

Kat snickered a bit, getting a heart-wrenching look from Skyla.

"I when it was done, I had cleared the classroom because ... well, they can get pretty bad. This was a bad one. " Skyla said. "So the next day I was fully prepared to be called names, and I was. Though I was grateful they were not as bad as they could have been. The kids were still too young to fully grasp the racist comments they could have used. They just called me Trumpet. It was a nickname that stuck until I left that school."

"I'm sorry Skyla," Lincoln said, though even he was biting his cheek a bit to keep from laughing.

"Honestly it's okay." Skyla smiled. "At the time it was terrible, I was crying a lot. But now I am over it and can even laugh at it myself." She told them. "I don't condone their actions, but I do agree it was a funny incident before the name-calling."

Kat and Lincoln went over and hugged her.

"Okay, it's Kat's turn now," Skyla said, pushing the cards closer to her friend.

Kat pulled a card off the top, getting a Jack of hearts. She slipped it back under the deck and looked to her friends with a quizzical look. "Well .. ?" She said.

Skyla looked to Lincoln and grinned. "I think you will enjoy this." She told him.

Kat caught wind of the tone of the comment. She understood that Skyla was hellbent on making her do something truly embarrassing.

"I want you to show Lincoln the Kat dance," Skyla smirked.

Kat's head hung low as she let out a labored sigh.

"Kat dance?" Lincoln scratched his head trying to keep up.

"Trust me, this is priceless and like, totally cute," Skyla told him. She pulled up an app on her phone and started to play a song.

Kat began to sway back and forth to the rhythm of the music. As the tempo changed, Kat pulled her arms up and went limp-wristed, pretending her hands were little paws. She hopped like a bunny three-time, then leaned forward while her butt stuck out behind her. She gave her butt a little wiggle as if she were waging a tail of some kind. Then repeated the whole process about four more times, until the song ended.

Lincoln got up and went over to Kat, giving her a huge hug and kiss on the cheek. "That," He smiled at the now blushing girl, "was adorable."

"You nailed it," Skyla told her. "I told you he would love it."

The three of them continued to play truth or dare for a few more hours before they finally decided to go to bed. They had an early day the next day and Lincoln was going to need his rest.

~*~*~Lincoln~*~*~

The next morning came and found Lincoln stirring awake to the smell of tea. The odor floated to his nostrils like a cartoon hand and smacked him awake. When he got up he saw Kat and Skyla fully dressed and holding cups of tea.

"Morning sunshine." Kat greeted him with a smile.

"There are some fresh clothes and a towel over there if you want to go take a shower before we head off to Ami's office," Skyla told him.

Lincoln went and grabbed the stack of clothing and the towel and headed for the shower. He returned a short while after to find a cup of tea for himself as well.

"That for me?" He asked, getting a nod from both girls. Lincoln took a sip, finding it just a tad sweet. "Mmm, that is pretty good." He commented.

"Chamomile and Lavender," Skyla told him. "It will help you relax."

There was a ping as Skyla pulled out her phone to check the time. "It's Ami', she's ready for you."

Lincoln gulped then followed both Kat and Skyla to Ami's office. Along the way, Kat and Skyl had managed to intertwine their arms with his. Lincoln did his best to keep his spirits up, not thinking about the needles, the drills, or the past. All of which dug into him. They entered Ami's office and found themselves in a treatment room towards the back. It smelled like tea tree and mint, which was unlike any other dentist office he had ever been in.

Ami entered in a pair of pink scrubs that hugged her curves leaving just enough to the imagination. He did his best to try not to think of just how good those scrubs looked on her, he was grateful that the change of clothing he had was sweat pants. He wanted to keep all of the blood in the upper part of his body so as not to embarrass himself. So instead he focused on the two girls who had shown him such fun and kindness. The two girls who managed to find something about him worth more than the two cents he thought he was worth. Skyla who was in a white shirt with a pattern that looked as if someone had booted up an art program selected flowers and used a brush on her. The pattern covered a lot of the shirt and had a sort of faded look to it. The shirt, or at least the back half, was tucked into a pair of faded blue jeans the clung to her skinny legs. Kat, who had ditched her trademark red shirt and jacket, had on a gray top with puffy shoulders. She matched her friend, also wearing a pair of faded blue jeans.

"Well Lincy, don't worry this shouldn't take too long now let's start by giving you something to relax okay sweety?" Ami reached over and grabbed a mask, smiling at Lincoln she started to lower it to his face, "just take some deep breaths and you'll be fine."

Lincoln paled and gulped, "Ummm is this necessary… Last time I had gas… My sister Luan teased me for weeks and my sisters joined in…"

Ami's smile disappeared within an instant. Her face hardened as she put the mask down and went over to a cabinet and looked inside, then checked a second and third cabinet "wait here please…" she walked out the room checking the other treatment rooms.

"What's going on girls?" Lincoln looked at both of the others.

"I don't know Snowflake, I've never seen this side of Ami." Kat leaned back and looked out the door to see Ami checking the other rooms.

"It'll be okay Little One, I'm not sure what she's up too but I can tell you she isn't mad at you."

"Of course, I'm not mad at him." she smiled again as the reentered the room, coming up to him and stroking his cheek,."Okay, I checked all over my office. I can find no sign of your sisters here. I'm sure neither my sister nor Kat will tell what happened here today, and I highly doubt you will utter a word about it. So, you are safe. Now please, let me help you," Ami's voice was soft pleading and at the same time comforting. It reminded him of Lori or Leni at their most nurturing.

Lincoln finally nodded and closed his eyes. He felt his shoes being removed and opened his eyes to see Skyla working his feet and then Kat playing with his hair, he closed his eyes and felt the mask over his nose and mouth.

~*~*~Kat~*~*~

Kat played with her Snowflakes hair as he breathed in and out, Ami held the facemask in place. Her Snowflake's body went limp after a bit. "Hey wait a minute Ami, you're putting him all the way under?"

"Heaven's no." Ami smiled as removed the mask, "just enough for him to relax. Guess he's been so worked up that it was enough to make him fall asleep. That works out better, it'll make things easier for both of us. I really don't get why his sisters would mock him for this."

"Snowflake mentioned it last night. Lily added every girl gets gas for visits, I just don't understand."

"Double standards are normal along gender lines Kat, you and Skyla will see this more and more as you grow older. However, despite what others will tell you men are just as often the victims as women are. Look at Koji-kun here. He got gas and was probably mocked for not being man enough to take the pain. Chances are his sisters have been hurt by men in the past and the girls are all trying to make sure he doesn't end up like the men who hurt them. Ironically if things had kept up as they had been Koji-kun probably would have ended up the biggest misogynist in all of Royal Woods, or even Royal County. Hell, the entire state.

"Poor Snowflake…"

"Well don't worry Kat, me and you are going to fix our Little One." Skyla nodded, "we won't let that happen."

"Good girls, now you are welcome to stay and keep this up while I'm working… BUT, I must insist you put masks on."

Both girls nodded as Kat put her mask on she wondered out loud, "I wonder what he's dreaming about…"

~*~*~Lincoln~*~*~

Lincoln found himself in a forest shrouded in mist, "Where am I? Hello! Kat! Skyla! Lily! Ami! Anyone!?" Lincoln's voice echoed through the forest, then he heard ruffling behind him turning he saw two beautiful white foxes each with nine tails.

"Well, hello there little guys, don't suppose you can tell me where I am?" Lincoln smiled to himself, he wasn't sure where he was but he had to get home, everyone would be worried about him. He hoped Ami wouldn't be angry at him for…

Suddenly Lincoln felt an odd stabbing pain in his gum he tried to left his left hand to it but felt a gentle pressure holding it down. For a moment he thought he heard Ami apologizing and for a second Kat shushing him, telling him it'll be okay.

"Kat!? Ami!?"

"Our Mistress is expecting you Lincoln," a voice called out to him, turning he saw the foxes looking at him.

"Come," another voice spoke, "Our Master awaits…"

"YOU CAN TALK!?" Lincoln swayed and for a second his vision was blurred there was something on his nose and he felt Kat's fingers in his hair a bright light in his eyes.

"Looks like someone is waking up…" Kat's voice.

"Just relax and go back to sleep Lincoln, sorry for the shot, not often I hurt a patient with one, here this will help."

"You're turning it up?" He heard Skyla ask.

Ami's giggle came back, "don't worry, just enough to help him sle…"

"Are you okay?" One of the foxes spoke to him. Lincoln was back in the clearing.

"I… think so…" Lincoln swayed.

"Good," the other fox spoke, "please come with us."

Lincoln followed the foxes, it seemed the bushes, trees and mist parted for them. The boy stayed close to his guides who walked to either side just ahead of him, he got the feeling whatever was off the path was best avoided, "stick to the path Lincoln."

"Wise," the female Fox spoke, "it is dangerous to wander here if you don't know the way."

They came to a series of stone steps with red torii gates one after the other going up a hill, as they ascended the foxes suddenly broke at the last step and went to either side of a low table. There sat two men, one of them a kindly looking old man, the other a younger man with a white rabbit by his side.

The old man grinned at Lincoln, "Ahhh there you are! I am Inari and I have been waiting for you…"

* * *

 **So is this really Inari-Okamisama? OR Is Lincoln having an interesting dream brought on by anime, stress, and Ami giving him more gas than you'd find at a BBQ and Beerfest? I'll let you decide.**

 **Now onto the Future of OMW. I and Zoinks are two VERY different writers with differing views on life, people and the list goes on. Plus Zoinks is wanting out of fan writing. So what does this mean for OMW?**

 **It will continue until the end. As for the future of the characters? There will be a Tenchi style reboot after the end, same characters but it'll just be me writing the whole thing and eventually, the Miyamoto's and other OCs (with the possible exception of Corey as I don't own him) will be taken into an original series staring themselves along with other new friends. The original series will be heavily influenced by Loud House, Gravity Falls, Star Vs., Scooby-Doo, MLP: FIM and Gargoyles. Stay tuned lots more to come!**


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